Apathy of Cupid
by Artemis Day
Summary: Valentine's Day is coming, but Haruhi's not really into it. Then a man falls from the sky and lands at her feet, a man with WINGS. Haruhi will have to help him out while dealing with the strange new feelings she has for a certain Host. TamaHaru.
1. Discovery of Cupid

**A/N: So yeah, I'm actually starting another new story. Now, before you think I'm crazy, know that I actually have this one written in advance and a set schedule of when each new chapter will be posted. I don't like posting multiple chapters together, so that's why. **

**This is someting I had orignally planned for Valentine's Day, but couldn't get it finished in time. So I decided to hold of and post it during March instead, which in Japan is the month of White Day. It still kind of counts, right?**

**Anyway, I here's the first chapter of Apathy of Cupid. I hope you all enjoy!**

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><p>'<em>Okay… got the milk, got the eggs -store was out of leeks- got the beef broth…'<em>

Haruhi paused, the tip of the pen resting between her lips as she re-read her shopping list, written on a mildly crumpled sheet of white notebook paper. She felt a chill when a gust of cold wind snapped at her back. Using her free hand, Haruhi pulled her unbuttoned winter jacket closer and mentally went over the number of days left until Spring. She removed the pen from her mouth and crossed several things off, a low hum escaping her lips.

"I think that's everything," she said aloud. "Better get home fast before the weather turns bad."

Haruhi picked up the grocery bags, pausing a few moments more to adjust them in her hands. As she walked by, she tossed the list into a trash can, feeling a sense of accomplishment at getting all her chores done in only a few hours. The sun hadn't even fully set yet, and her father was working late tonight. All Haruhi had to worry about now was preparing a light dinner, and then she could spend the rest of the night with her homework, just the way she liked it.

She took note of the imposing gray clouds as she crossed the street, feeling a twinge of fear that they were an omen of something coming. Something big and something _loud_. Haruhi shivered involuntarily.

'_Don't worry,' _she told herself. _'The weather forecast said it would be clear skies tonight. There's nothing to worry about.'_

'_Ah, but the forecast is often wrong,' _a nasty little voice in her head answered. _'They're wrong already, they specifically said there'd be clear skies today, and I'm seeing a lot of clouds.'_

Grinding her teeth, Haruhi paid the voice no heed and kept moving, quickening her pace the barest of fractions. The bags swung hard at her side. Every time they came back to her, it's contents shook in time with the crinkling plastic. Haruhi stepped off the sidewalk into the street, a line of stopped cars in her peripheral vision, waiting with varying degrees of patience for the green light. Along the way, she also passed a man and woman, both barely older than her from the looks of it. They moved slowly, their arms wrapped around each other. The woman's head rested on the man's shoulder, his head on top of hers. Though Haruhi only saw them for a split second, the content smiles on their faces were hard to miss. She even thought she heard the woman gave a contented sigh as they walked off into a crowd.

Haruhi continued the familiar trek, passing a record store and a learning center and a dingy café, all of which she had almost memorized at this point. Outside the latter was another pair. Like the one in the street, they appeared to be lovers, but unlike them, they didn't seem quite as… loving.

"Don't you lie to me, you asshole!" the woman shrieked, slamming her fist on the window and making it shake. "I _saw_ you flirting with that slut Koda outside the library yesterday. What, trying to get some of her special _'one on one tutoring?_'"

"I didn't even talk to her!" the boyfriend shot back, red in the face from yelling so much (_'And so loud,' _Haruhi thought with a wince). "She was just following me around, chattering in my ear. I tried to shake her off, but-"

"Oh, bull_shit_."

The conversation from there was unknown to Haruhi, as she finally walked out of earshot and back into the peaceful quiet.

'_Love is in the air,' _she thought sardonically. _'I really can't wait until Valentine's Day is over.'_

Haruhi glanced at the clothing store on the right. It boasted a large sign that took up half the window, proclaiming a 'Buy One, Get One Free' sale in honor of the hapless holiday. The uncovered portion revealed the cashier clumsily wrapping a heart shaped box with bright red ribbon.

'_Does it even have a point? I mean, why do you need a specific day to show your significant other that you like them? You should already do it every day. No need to make a show of it.'_

But of course, not everyone shared Haruhi's lukewarm viewpoint. In fact, all of her illustrious high school was getting into the spirit. Her last few days at the Host Club had consisted almost entirely of clients asking her for advice on gifts for their boyfriends and crushes.

"My boyfriend is on the football team and he likes to avoid sweets. Do you think if I made him sugar free cookies, that would be okay?"

"I've been in love with him for so long, I want to give him something special. What to do think?"

"I mean, you _are_ a guy, so you know what guys like. Right, Haruhi?"

It had been fine, slightly amusing even, the first few days, but now Haruhi was getting tired of it. She never knew exactly what to say to these girls. Most of her 'advice' consisted of agreeing with everything they said and praising all of their ideas until they swooned before her and dropped the subject. It was an increasingly tiring task, but like everything else Haruhi got into, she took it in stride.

The rest of the school was about the same, talking endlessly about what they should get and what they would get and how to spend the day after school and how in love they were and how wonderful it was. The walls were becoming pinker every day from the holiday spirit they all possessed.

All but Haruhi.

Well, okay, that wasn't entirely true. She was by no means the only one didn't care about Valentine's Day. Nekozawa-senpai, for one, hadn't been out of his club room since the start of February. It was even speculated that he never went to classes or returned home. According to Hikaru and Kaoru, the wave of love and affection went so far against his dark nature that even the mere mention of 'the V word' would send him into a coma-like state. Haruhi doubted that was true, but it didn't change the sounds of cowering she heard whenever she passed the door separating the two clubs.

And speaking of the club…

"**(go-sen) mairu hashitte iki wo kirashite Adorenarin" **

Haruhi stopped to grab her vibrating cell phone. One look at the Caller ID was all that was necessary to bring her annoyance to it's peak. Of course it would be the king of Valentine's Day himself calling her now of all times. Knowing there was no point in ignoring him (he'd just keep calling), she flipped open the phone and accepted the call.

"Hey, Senpai," she said, picking up the pace again. "What's going on-"

"HARUHIIIIII!" he screamed. Haruhi jumped and pulled the phone away, keeping it a full inch above her ear so she could still her him yelling. "Haruhi! My beloved daughter! Is everything alright? Are you well? Are you?"

"Yes," Haruhi answered, only realizing after she'd said it that he probably didn't hear her. She pulled the phone back to her ear. "Yes, I'm fine. Why do you ask?"

"Well, of course I'm asking!" Tamaki said, like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "I heard that thunder same as you. What if a storm hits? Will you be okay?"

Haruhi didn't answer right away, as her mind filled with the sounds of clapping thunder roaring around her. A chill went down her spine, but Haruhi shook it off.

"Senpai, even if there is a storm, it'll probably be a small one. I can put on some music to drown it out or something. I'll be okay."

"But how do you know?" Tamaki pressed. The steady thumps Haruhi could just make out suggested that he was pacing. "What if it gets really bad and you're all alone! As your surrogate father, I simply won't allow it!"

Haruhi sighed inwardly. "Thank you for the sentiment, but I'm alright. I don't want to take you away from your homework or anything. I'm safe at my place and nothing bad is going to happen."

A funny sound exuded from the receiver, something like a whimper and a groan mixed together. Haruhi knew he wasn't going to like her refusal of his all but stated intentions, but frankly, she wasn't in the mood for company. It made lying to him about being at home much easier. She was positive that if she told him were she really was, he would not only offer to stay with her, but he'd come that big, conspicuous limo of his and insist on driving her the rest of the way home. That she was already half a block away wouldn't matter in the slightest.

"I suppose if you're sure," he begrudgingly said, so softly that Haruhi almost didn't hear it.

"Thank you for understanding," she said with relief.

"But if it does happen and it becomes bad," Tamaki said, his sudden return to seriousness surprising Haruhi. "If you get even a little scared, call me _immediately_. Promise?"

Haruhi wanted to roll her eyes, but the sincere concern for her well-being was admittedly touching. Not that she ever doubted her bubbly Senpai didn't care about her, it was just interesting to hear him so… mature about it, for lack of a better term.

Without another delay, she gave an affirmative response, hoping it would set Tamaki's mind at ease. His sigh of relief confirmed this, but he wasn't done yet.

"I'll still call in the morning to check up on you," he said. "Don't forget, we still have to plan for the Garden Party on Valentine's Day. Kyoya's organized the food and decorations, all that's left is to make out the fliers and announce the event. It's going to be so exciting!"

Well, that hadn't lasted long. The idiotic happiness he so often sported was back with a vengeance. Haruhi sweat dropped as from here, he'd likely get more and more excited by the minute.

"Yeah, I bet," she said in as unenthusiastic a way as one could. Naturally, this didn't register with Tamaki.

"I just can't wait. Valentine's Day is the most romantic holiday there is! All the joy and happiness! Oh, love is in the air! Can you feel it, Haruhi?"

"Mm-hmm," she relented. "It feels great, Senpai. I'm sorry, but I have to go now. I have homework to do."

"Say no more," Tamaki cried out. "I wouldn't want to impede on your studies. Goodnight Haruhi, and remember, _call me if you need help_."

Haruhi blinked. The serious voice again, so quickly and without warning. She stared off at nothing, trying to imagine the look on Tamaki's face as he waited for an answer. It wasn't as hard a task as one might think. A goofball Tamaki may be, he knew when it was time to stop joking around. And he meant everything he was saying right now.

"I promise," she reiterated.

A series of goodbyes later, Haruhi was once again on the move. She exhaled hard as she pocketed her phone. Tamaki remained at the forefront of her mind, as he would for the next few minutes while she tried to gradually guide her train of thought to a different topic, like whether or not she'd be able to get that history paper finished by tonight, or if she should make pork ramen tonight instead of vegetable, or when her father would get around to calling her to say when he'd arriving home so she could wait up for him.

Somehow though, it always went right back to Tamaki Suoh, and how strange Haruhi had been feeling around him lately. Sometimes, it was almost like she couldn't look at him without heat rising in her cheeks. When he spoke to her, he had her complete attention, even if it was just his usual babble. Nothing appeared to have changed; he was still a Drama Queen, the twins could still set him off with the slightest provocation, and he still went to that corner of his roughly five times a day for various asinine reasons. It was business as usual for her and the Host Club.

There was no difference.

None at all.

Except for Haruhi. Maybe _she _was the one who had changed in some way, without even realizing it.

'_I wonder if I have a cold,' _she thought, placing a hand on her forehead.

Sudden and quick movement from above jerked Haruhi away from her contemplation. She craned her neck up, staring at the deep gray clouds that covered the sky and left her unable to tell if the sun had fully set or the moon had started to rise. She squinted, trying to make out anything that might explain what she just saw. Or thought she saw, anyway.

Because if Haruhi didn't know any better, she'd say a _person_ had just flown over her head. In the split second it took for whatever it was to pass, she could just make out what appeared to be a head and arms stretched out on either side like a comic book superhero. Brown eyes darting this way and that, predictably finding nothing save more clouds and a few birds.

Letting out a breath, Haruhi turned and shook her head.

'_I'm just seeing things,' _she told herself. _'Maybe I'll go to bed early tonight or something.'_

There came a rumbling, like the one before, only louder and closer. It shook Haruhi to her very core, making her freeze in place. She clenched her fist tighter around the shopping bags as the sky light up for a split second, followed by more thunder. It cracked and roared, and Haruhi whimpered involuntarily.

"Stay calm," she told herself. "Stay calm and keep moving. You're almost home."

'_I should have taken Senpai up on his offer,' _her inner voice added, but Haruhi brushed it aside fast. That didn't stop the strange feeling that arose in her stomach and was almost great enough to eclipse the deep, primal fear of thunder that had been with her since childhood.

Haruhi felt a droplet on her head, followed by two more on her gloveless hands. Pretty soon, the rain was coming down so hard, it was almost blinding. Haruhi broke into a run, unconcerned with the bags of food she carried. Better broken or ripped than soaking wet and ruined. When another shot of lightning hit, this one directly in front of her and in her line of sight, she ran faster, as if that would help her avoid the inevitable.

Thunder boomed, worse than ever, just as the apartment complex came into view. Heedless of the cars that screeched to a stop as she ran by and honking at her in outrage, Haruhi bolted for the staircase. She climbed up two at a time with stamina born from adrenaline. The door was in view and the key in her pocket hopped around with abandon. Haruhi came to a stop right in front of the familiar numbers and cried out in relief in spite of herself.

She ran into some slight difficulty unlocking the door. Her shaking hands lead her to strike the key against the bronze covering once or twice before she finally found the keyhole. One turn later, the door was swinging open and Haruhi had one foot beyond the threshold. She felt her frazzled nerves begin to cam down, thoughts of what she would do from here on out (put away the groceries, make a light dinner, get some homework done, turn in early) entering her mind and erasing all the bad.

The next bolt of lightning struck. Haruhi's dimly lit house was illuminated for all the world to see. It didn't immediately register in her mind how close the lightning had been; she was motionless for duration of the flash and subsequent thunder. Another few inches to the left, and she would be a fried husk in the doorway. Her mouth fell open as that realization hit her, but she had no more time to dwell on it as her inner voice was drowned out by a massive thud.

Haruhi whirled around, not knowing what to expect or even if she'd really heard something real and not imagined. What she found was definitely real, but far beyond anything she could have imagined.

A man, flat on his back, unconscious at her feet. Bright red hair covered the top part of his face, but she could still make out tightly closed eyes. His clothes were rumpled and wet from the rain, but looked expensive and well made. His arms were outstretched, the fingertips almost brushing Haruhi's shoe. Despite his lack of movement and pale face, his chest moved up and down slowly.

Haruhi stood there for a long while, oblivious to the rain lessening to an eventual stop and the thunder going with it. In the lamp light, she could make out his every feature besides the eyes. She closed her eyes and opened them. Then she closed them again, tighter this time and counting to ten before opening. The man was still there. He was still knocked out.

And most importantly, he still had a giant pair of white, feathery wings protruding from his back.

Haruhi let out a breath she didn't knew she was holding as her head very slowly lifted to the sky. The sky this man appeared to have fallen out of.

"I…" her mouth moved on it's own. "I… I don't know how I'm going to explain this to Dad."


	2. Substitution of Cupid

**A/N: Here's chapter two!**

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><p>In all the time Haruhi was staring at the crumpled and winged body before her, it never once occurred to her that this would rather suspicious to anyone passing by on foot. To them, it would probably look like she was standing over the body of some Cupid messenger boy who came to people's doors and performed sing telegrams.<p>

'Maybe she got dumped and didn't take it well,' they'd say.

Once this possibility was clear to her, Haruhi's head snapped in all different directions, searching for anyone within a far enough radius to see what was going on. Finding nothing, Haruhi forced her eyes back on the man, now wondering just what she was supposed to do next.

'_I can't bring him inside,' _she told herself first thing. _'What if he's a murderer or a robber… who fell from the sky… he could have been scaling the roof! That makes sense. Maybe I should call the police.'_

The body jerked.

Haruhi gasped and stumbled back as the strange man emitted a low groan and his arms began to grab at the air. With his single stunned witness watching, the man found his grip on the doorframe and used it as leverage to get back on his feet. The enormous wings moved with him, like the muscular appendages they were. They folded over, easily hidden from view if one stood directly in front of the man as Haruhi was. He looked perfectly normal now, if disheveled and soaking wet. His eyes widened, but saw nothing. He grunted again and rubbed at his hair, droplets of water flying everywhere.

"That was a bad fall," he muttered, stretching out his shoulders experimentally.

Haruhi didn't know what to do next. She looked down, noting that he was completely outside the doorway, while her earlier shock had sent her sprawling to the carpeted floor of the apartment. Really, all she needed to do was shut the door in his face and lock it tight, then go call the police like she'd originally planned. Sure, he'd have long since ran away by the time they arrived, but at least she'd be able to give a thorough description of him.

_But how on Earth would she explain those wings?_

Haruhi was still trying to figure that one out when the man finished his inspection of his psychical being and finally spotted her. He froze on the spot, one hand hovering in mid-air over the back of his neck.

The two stared at each other, unmoving and silent. It was hard to tell which one looked more scared of the other, but in the end, it was the man who was able to break out the stupor first and spring into action. Before Haruhi could scream, he was upon her. A hard, calloused hand shoved under her nose, keeping her protests muffled and unintelligible. Cursing under his breath, the man pulled the petite teenager to her feet and entered the apartment, kicking the door shut behind him.

Frantic eyes searched the perimeter, as if expecting to find a camera or some kind of hidden recording device. At least, that's what Haruhi imagined in between the horrors of what this taller than her, stronger than her, winged man could do now that he had her all alone and at his mercy.

"Okay," he said through oddly ragged breath. "Okay. Okay. Now listen up."

Haruhi tensed. That last part was directed at her, if his hard gaze over her shoulder and severe tone were any indication.

"I'm not going to hurt you," he said. "I promise, I will not harm you in any way. Now I'll let you go; all I ask is that you please. Don't. Scream."

Sweat was pooling on Haruhi's brow, and the voice of reason in her head roared with distrust. It urged her to run the very second he had freed her, but Haruhi knew better. She had nowhere to run, he was blocking her only exit. Even if she got to the window and shouted for help, there was no guarantee anyone would hear her. All it would do for sure was make her captor angry. That was the last thing Haruhi wanted right now.

Slowly, she nodded her head. He gave a sigh of relief and dropped her to the ground. Haruhi took several deep breaths once his hand was gone and massaged her throat. She could smell rubber, like he'd been wearing latex gloves recently. This brought to light many new and terrifying possibilities for what he might do to her. Turning around, she could now see the man bathed in revealing, artificial light.

He was just as strange looking as his behavior might entail. The spiky red hair matted down on his head was a fiery shade that put Hikaru and Kaoru's to shame. His eyes were dark green and wide like that of a child. He had a plain face, with a disproportionately thin nose at it's center. His body was lanky, made no better by the heavy, red duster jacket he wore over an ill-fitting white shirt that revealed an almost emaciated looking torso.

At this point, Haruhi had every reason to believe he was some random bum off the street, possibly looking for a few extra bucks laying around some unsuspecting person's house.

And that would have been a perfect theory, with all the pieces fitting together, were it not for those damn wings.

"Look, we have nothing here worth stealing," Haruhi said, raising her hands in surrender. "I can give you some money, if that's what you want, but I-"

"I don't want your money," the man interrupted, rolling his eyes. "I already said I'm not here to hurt you. If you can stay calm long enough, I'll tell you whatever you want to know."

Haruhi processed his words, trying to see them as a lawyer would; as her mother would. The man sounded sincere, but so did crooked salesmen and con artists when they wanted to lull you into a false sense of security before they struck. She currently knew nothing about this guy, save for that he had no issue with more or less holding her hostage in her own home, and that wasn't a good starting point to build trust off of.

As if sensing her fears, the man pulled off his jacket, holding it out by two fingers and shaking vigorously.

"See that? I'm unarmed."

He dropped the jacket to the floor and lifted his shirt to show a bare chest and nothing else. Next were his pants pockets, turned inside out to reveal only lint.

"I don't have anything on me. I have no gun in my jacket, no knife in my pocket, and the only thing I'm packing is my-"

"Alright!" Haruhi let out a shaky breath and kicked the jacket away just in case. "Fine just- just tell me what you're doing here. Who are you?"

The man gave a nod of his own and flopped down on the couch. Though Haruhi didn't care for his casual attitude towards lounging around in a complete stranger's home, she wouldn't dare voice such complaints. She still had no guarantee that he really wasn't dangerous.

"Well first thing's first, my name is Ozzie," the man said.

Haruhi gave him a look, and Ozzie answered with a frown.

"My parents were into that whole British Metal scene, okay?" he said defensively. "Anyway, I work as a Cupid, and I was busy on the job when I lost my way in that storm. A wayward bolt of lightning singed my wing and knocked me out of the sky. And so here I am in your living room… something wrong?"

This was a substantial understatement, as evidenced by Haruhi's slack jawed expression and eye roaming over those barely visible wings. The one on the right moved around slowly, settling in. The left one was stationary, and jutted out at an odd angle, making it easier to spot.

"You. You uh…" Haruhi stopped to clear her throat. "You said you're _Cupid_?"

"_A _Cupid," Ozzie was quick to correct her. "Not _The_ Cupid. _The _Cupid is a lazy ass who hasn't worked a day in over twenty years. He leaves it all to us overworked employees while he and his wife go off to do God only knows what, and doesn't even pay for overtime. Ungrateful bastard…"

He descended into soft mumbling that Haruhi couldn't make out, not that she was trying to. No, all her focus was on the extraordinary claims he made so flippantly, like he was telling her the time.

"I-" she stammered, bringing a hand to her head where she felt a deep throbbing. "I'm not sure I follow this."

Ozzie pursed his lips, slouching over in his seat and bringing his wet boots up to rest on the end table. Haruhi was not so out of it as to not notice, and shot Ozzie a glare that he didn't acknowledge.

"Alright, sit down then. This is going to take some time," and he waved at a chair on the other side of the room.

Haruhi glanced at it, not sure how to feel about being asked to sit in her own living room. Wasn't it suppose to be her inviting him? Not that she would've had she any choice in the matter. Regardless, Haruhi grabbed the armchair and pulled it closer, not taking her eyes off Ozzie for even a second.

"Okay," he said. "So I'm a Cupid. More specifically, I am a messenger of love who works mainly during the months of February and March. My job is to bring Destined Loves together. See, everyone has another person with whom they are most compatible, someone they can share anything with and who will love them come what may."

"You're talking about Soulmates," Haruhi inferred.

Ozzie hesitated, then gave a shrug. "Well yeah, but no. We don't use that word anymore. Too commercial."

Haruhi gave him a blank stare.

"We call them Destined Loves," Ozzie enunciated like he was teaching it to a child. "I know it's a bit of a mouthful, but it's regulation, so we just have to go with it. Anyway, what I do is use my magic to help people find that person. In my time, I've been responsible for over 250 successful matches, thank you very much."

He puffed out his chest proudly, grinning so his mouth full of pearly white teeth were showing. If he expected Haruhi to be impressed or complimentary, he was disappointed. All he got was more weariness.

"That sounds nice," she said. "But if you're really a Cupid and there are more of you out there doing this kind of work, can you explain to me why the divorce rate is so high?"

Ozzie snorted and rolled his eyes, like he'd just been told a really bad joke.

"Sure I can. It's because humans are abominably stupid," he replied bluntly. "They'll think they've fallen in love when it's really either crazy hormones or delusions of grandeur talking. Then they get married, and it's all downhill from there."

Haruhi considered this. "Okay… why don't you stop it from happening?"

"Because that's not how the job works," Ozzie said, grabbing a paperweight off the small table and half-heartedly looking it over. "We know when a person is close to their Destined Love and that's when we can come in and work our magic. Otherwise, we can't do crap. That whole media spiel about us hitting random Joes with arrows so they fall in love with the first random Alice they see is a total crock. We don't _create_ love, we _nurture_ it; we help it to grow. Our success rate is through the roof, the spark just has to be there first."

He dropped the paperweight, and it made an unpleasant sound upon impact, but thankfully nothing was broken. Haruhi winced anyway, wishing more and more that she could throw this obviously crazy person out of her house without any grievous harm to her person. For now, and until she could make a plan to get out of this, she'd just have to keep humoring him.

"So if two people who are meant to be are in a position where they can get together, you can help them, but if one of them is trying to be with someone else, you can't?"

"More or less," Ozzie shrugged. "The sad truth is that a lot of humans go many, many years without finding their Destined Love. Hell, some never do. Along the way, they make bad decisions and get into bad, unfulfilling or, worst case scenario, abusive relationships. That's why it's always special when someone gets lucky, like a good percentage of people around here.

"See, the Kanto Region of Japan is a hotspot this year. There are more people in close proximity with their true loves in this region alone than in all of Asia, if not the world. There are usually two or three places like this every year and it's never the same one twice. For example, the big hotspots last year were both in European nations. This year, we have Kanto and a city in North America. You follow me?"

"I think so," Haruhi said with a nodded, twiddling her thumbs nervously. "So what now? What are you going to do?"

At this, Ozzie sprang to his feet, so fast that it made the already on edge Haruhi jump out of her own seat. Ozzie grabbed her hand without warning, shaking it violently and grinning.

"Well, it was nice chatting with you, but I need to get back to work. Can't have all my guys out there breaking their backs while I sit around doing nothing… no matter how tempting a notion that is…"

He threw her hand aside and started for the door. When his wings began to unfurl, Haruhi bolted out after him, arriving just in time to find him, wings stretched out to their max for all the world to see.

"Aren't you afraid someone will see you?"

"Hmm…" Ozzie didn't appear to really be paying attention to her. "Oh please, don't act like I'm an idiot. Nobody ever sees us, we always stay invisible when on the job. Only under very, and I do mean _very_, special circumstances would we willingly reveal ourselves to a human."

Her mouth opened, but no sound came out, nor would any words form in her mind. Everything was hitting her all at once, and Haruhi still didn't know what to think. The obvious answer according to basic common sense was that Ozzie was insane, but how would that explain that very real set of wings she'd been unable to fully process all this time?

Not only that, there was the fact that he was now hoisting himself onto the railing, inhuman balance keeping him upright and capable of turning his head to nod goodbye.

"It was nice meeting you, by the way."

And then he vanished.

He didn't spread his wings and fly, he didn't even jump. He was there one second and gone the next, right before Haruhi's eyes. A gasp tore from her throat, cold fear gripping her as she ran for the railing and looked down. Nothing was there except a pile of yesterday's garbage.

Haruhi blinked, her shock replaced by confusion, but the fear remaining. She slowly backed away, eyes darting to and froe as if expecting to find Ozzie standing there, snickering as he proclaimed that he'd fooled her. There was nothing, and though still deeply shaken, Haruhi was prepared to get back inside before anything else crazy or potentially life threatening happened. Perhaps Ozzie was just a hallucination induced by her fear of the thunderstorm. Or maybe she really was coming down with something.

She took one last look at the barren ground below, ready to turn and leave just as she heard a loud thud and saw one of the garbage pails fly into the air, seemingly for no reason. Haruhi gave a shout that mixed with the furious grunts of someone she couldn't see. This was followed by a long string of curses and heavy footsteps banging up the stairs, going two at a time. At the very top, Ozzie appeared, again out of nowhere. His wings were folded back, but now the one on the left was even more bent out of shape. It hung out limp, not even able to fully close. This was likely the reason why Ozzie was red in the face and fuming.

"I can't fly," he grumbled.

Swallowing, Haruhi drew herself to full (and unimpressive by comparison) height, determined to see this insanity through to the end. Now that she knew Ozzie probably wasn't lying to her, all the fears from earlier were dulling down substantially. This didn't make what she was about to do any less of a stupid idea, according to her logical side.

"Would you like to come back in?"

Ozzie gave her a blank stare, one that turned into a smile when it became clear that she was serious.

"That's very kind of you," he said as he moved passed her and re-entered the house.

Haruhi followed, closing the door behind her while chewing on her bottom lip in an effort to avoid telling him just how she felt about his treatment of her hospitality. He had taken his spot on the couch back, along with his makeshift foot rest.

While Haruhi went to grab something to drink, Ozzie was examining his wing, the edge of his tongue sticking out as he moved his hand up and down every inch of it.

"Are you thirsty?" Haruhi asked awkwardly. "I have water, tea and milk."

She suspected from the intensity with which he threw himself into the self-inspection that he would not respond, and Ozzie didn't disappoint. Haruhi had finished half her cup of tea by the time he gave a heavy sigh and leaned back, hitting his head once or twice on the wall behind him before relaxing.

"My wing is broken," he said through grit teeth. "This is bad."

Haruhi clicked her tongue. "What uh… what can you do to fix it?"

Ozzie opened one eye to look at her, and Haruhi found she didn't like the little gleam it had randomly acquired. When he sat up and opened the other one, a funny sort of smile gracing his features, Haruhi hated it.

"That's the thing," Ozzie said. "I can actually fix the thing on my own. I just have to focus all my energy and magic onto it. This is basic first-aid we learn in our first year of training. As long as I don't do anything else strenuous in the time that I need to heal, I can be back in the air within no more than a few days."

Haruhi nodded, though she wasn't quite sure if this was a relief or not. She knew Ozzie had some idea in mind for this, and her specifically. She just hoped it didn't involve what she thought it did.

"The problem is that I can't afford to miss any work," Ozzie continued, pursing his lips. "Valentine's Day is almost here and it's going to be love, love and more love. My colleagues are too busy with their own areas to cover for me, and what if I'm not around and everyone starts getting with the wrong people? That'd be a fiasco. I'd lose my job for sure!"

His explanation had turned into ramblings at this point, and Haruhi doubted he was talking to anyone but himself. Ozzie trailed off there, gaze straying to the ceiling. It was like he _wanted_ her to be uneasy around him right when she'd just gotten over thinking he was a crazy homeless burglar.

"Can't you do anything else?" Haruhi asked, regretting the question once his smile became an eerie grin.

Ozzie stood. "Nothing aside from trying to recover as fast as I can. Until then, I'll have to stay off my feet and out of sight. I can't let word of this get back to my boss or else I'll get written up, maybe even worse. If I can just keep up with work while healing, I should be fine."

"And how are you going to do that?" Haruhi asked. _'I really hope you're not implying that I should let you stay here. I am NOT doing that.'_

Ozzie clapped a hand on Haruhi's shoulder, pulling her close in a friendly way that just made her want to put more distance between them.

"That, my dear friend, is where you come in," Ozzie said, mussing up her hair with fervor. "I need a place to stay for the time being, and you seem to have plenty of room!"

"Wait a minute, you can't-"

"Also, since you're young and in high school, you'll be at most of the Hot locations anyway."

His hand on her head stopped, fingertips digging into Haruhi's skull painfully. She gave a whimper, but Ozzie didn't acknowledge her discomfort. This was exactly what he wanted.

"Congratulations! As of right now, and until further notice, you are a substitute Cupid!"

Like a bullet, Haruhi felt something hard and fast strike her through the temples. An explosion of pain left her screaming in agony and falling to the ground. Her head was pounding as she opened her eyes to find that everything was pitch black. Horrified, Haruhi scrunched them shut again, smacking a hand over her mouth to prevent more screaming. She wouldn't be surprised if she'd already given the neighbors a heart attack from her initial reaction.

"I can't see!" she cried.

"Oh that?" Ozzie casually responded. He almost sounded bored. "Relax, that'll pass."

Though Haruhi felt like hitting him in the stupid, smiling face with something big and heavy, the pain was admittedly fading faster than it had come. The terror of potential blindness hadn't left her yet, but Haruhi found it in her to open her eyes once more. This time, she breathed a sigh of relief; her vision was as clear as it had ever been.

In fact, she'd say it was even _clearer_.

Haruhi had to blink a few times to confirm it wasn't an illusion, that the world around didn't have a sharpness that wasn't there before. She picked up a random object, her cell phone, and turned over in her hand, looking at it from all angles. She could see little cracks in the plastic, including a nice long one running up and down the length of the back cover. It likely came from one of the times her Dad used the phone and got his sharpened fake nails everywhere. Why had she never seen that before? It looked really deep.

"Pretty cool, huh?"

Her head whipped around, and there was Ozzie. He looked different all of a sudden too, the red color of his hair now more shocking somehow. His seemingly flawless skin also had traces of scars and blemishes mostly around his neck. Haruhi took a deep, labored breath.

"What did you do to me?" she asked, careful not to show too much emotion lest she start to really freak out.

Ozzie may have noticed this, as his first response was to laugh at her. Haruhi grit her teeth in anger.

"Nothing bad," he said with a wave of his hand, dismissing her turmoil. "I know it feels weird right now, but you'll get used to it after a while. It just comes with being a Cupid."

"I'm not a Cupid," Haruhi objected.

"You're only half-right. You weren't a Cupid before, and technically you aren't one now, but you _do _have some of my powers."

"What?"

Ozzie took the opportunity to grab his by the arm and roughly pull her towards the door, not letting up even when Haruhi protested.

"Come on," he urged her.

He burst out the door for the second time that day, revealing a setting sun somehow visible behind numerous dense clouds. Haruhi briefly wondered if it was going to storm again, but was distracted by Ozzie pushing her against the railing, forcing her to look down.

"See anyone yet?" he asked, glancing around the empty area on his own. "Any couples?"

"What does it matter?"

"Seriously? The whole point of this was so you could see the way I do. Just keep looking."

There were many more questions Haruhi wanted to ask, but at the moment, she was too exhausted and wanted nothing more than to run back inside, lock the door, and go to sleep. Hopefully she'd wake up the next morning, and this will have all been nothing more than an especially vivid dream. First, she'd have to get the very real and very solid Ozzie to let her go…

Haruhi groaned, letting her head drop onto the cold metal, only for Ozzie to shake her back into awareness.

"Pay attention," he ordered. "Look, someone's coming!"

Haruhi glanced out, finding a young couple pressed against each other and smiling serenely. They reminded her a great deal of the lovestruck pair she'd seen on the streets, but she was pretty sure this wasn't them. She didn't know what made them so special that Ozzie expected her to be amazed or impressed.

Then she saw their hands, and her jaw dropped.

With their fingers laced together, it was difficult to see where the ends were tied off, but there was most definitely a glowing red string attached to the man and woman's hands. It moved with the wind, but slower than it should have. Even more bizarre was when the couple got closer, and Haruhi saw that the string was intangible. Everything she could see through it took on an red-ish tint. At one point, the man let go of the woman's hand so he could move away and pick up some garbage on the ground, tossing it into a nearby trash receptacle. The ends of the string were tied to the couple's ring fingers, and it stretched easily, showing no sign of wearing thin or breaking. It seemed to grow longer no matter how much distance the man put between himself and his girlfriend.

The wheels in Haruhi's head were running a mile a minute, even worse than when she'd seen Ozzie's wings for the first time. Try as she might, she couldn't figure out an explanation for this. The man walked back to his lover, taking back her hand as they continued on their way, blissfully ignorant of everything except each other.

"What was that?" Haruhi breathed.

Above her, Ozzie puffed out his chest triumphantly. "I knew this would work. With you on the job, my recovery is going to be a piece of cake."

"Those strings… were they real?"

"I am going to have to teach you a few things of course. Since you don't have all my powers, you'll have to rely a lot on your own abilities to bring people together. Shouldn't be too hard, you seem smart enough."

"This can't be happening."

Ozzie grinned. "Oh, but it is."

He guided her back inside and shut the door. While he bolted it and closed the curtains, Haruhi fell back on her chair. So great was her shock and awe, she was unable to object to Ozzie's strutting. He kneeled down in front of her, taking in her spaced out look, and snapped his fingers.

"Hey," he said sharply. "We have things to talk about. Try to pay attention."

This was unnecessary, as his snapping alone had broken the spell on Haruhi and brought her back to full awareness. When she opened her mouth, Ozzie placed a finger over it.

"Save your questions for when I'm done," he said, drawing himself to full height. "Now then, what you just saw is called a Life Thread. Some cultures have also referred to it as the Red String of Fate. The color represents eternal love, so our goal is to get red Life Threads. Everyone has a Life Thread when they're born, and it always starts off pure white. Once you meet your Destined Love, it turns pink. The shade of pink varies depending on how close you are to your Destined Love, but only experienced Cupids can see that. All you're going to see is solid pink.

"When you and your Destined Love admit your feelings for each other, your Life Threads connect and turn red. Now, if you're worried about seeing a bunch of red strings stretched across the city, don't be. At that point, the strings are only visible when you and your Destined Love are within twenty feet of each other. Any further and they become invisible until you get close again.

"There are other color strings of course. You mentioned the high divorce rate, and any couple like that it going to have a blue Life Thread. It functions the same as a red one, only the color is different. You can tell when blue Life Threads are going to happen because they are preceded by orange Life Threads. Orange represents infatuation, fake love that's doomed to fail. About 80 percent of the time when a Life Thread isn't white, it's going to be orange or blue, and the rest will be pink and red. I know that may not seem like much, but trust me, it adds up. Now as I've already said, this region of Tokyo is a hot spot this year. That means I, and by extension you, have a massive workload ahead…"

He stopped short, giving her a concerned look that she was too dumbstruck to really see. Her eyes went right through him, unseeing except for the going-ons in her head.

This was a dream.

This _had _to be a dream.

There was no way a man with wings, claiming to be Cupid, had just given her the power to see pieces of string that tied people together and told their romantic futures. That's nothing more than ridiculous shojo fodder and _cannot _happen in real life.

Haruhi's wide open mouth emitted a soft rattling sound like a car engine failing. Ozzie chuckled, shaking his head as he approached her.

"Which is why I say we hold off on the Q and A. This is a lot for you to take in, and you're going to need all the rest you can get."

He didn't wait for a response before plucking her out of the chair. Haruhi felt her body lift, held by strong arms that carried her out of the living room and into her bedroom. Ozzie leaned over and gently laid her on the futon, covering her with a thick blanket.

"We'll have another lesson tomorrow," he said while fluffing her pillow. "I think we've covered the basics, but there's still more I need to teach you."

Standing up straight, he headed out the sliding door. Ozzie stopped short, giving her prone form one last smile and a thumbs up.

"Don't you worry about a thing, Haruhi. You're going to do great!"

He closed it tight, his shadow disappearing as he walked out of sight. Haruhi was unable to stop him, for her eyes grew heavy the moment her body hit the futon. It was unrelenting and uncaring of the current circumstances. Haruhi had no choice but to give in. The last thing on her mind before she allowed sleep to claim her was that she didn't recall ever telling Ozzie her name.


	3. First Day of Cupid

**A/N: Here's chapter three!**

* * *

><p>Haruhi awoke slowly the next morning, singing birds outside her window gently guiding her out from her dreams. Sighing contently, she rolled over on her futon, enjoying it's soft feel and warmth in the few minutes she had before her internal clock dictated that she had to get up. For now, Haruhi relaxed, thinking to herself about what she would have for breakfast.<p>

'_It'll have to be more than usual,' _her mind reasoned. _'I didn't have any dinner last night, thanks to-'_

Her drooping eyes flew open and she shot to her feet like a rocket. In her hurry out the door, she stumbled on a run in the carpet, but latched onto the door before she could fall. After straightening up and taking a few deep, calming breaths, Haruhi slowly pulled the door open and peeked out. There wasn't a single winged man in any direction she looked. Not even a stray feather that could indicate Ozzie's presence. What Haruhi did see was her father, in one of his many dress shirts and ankle length skirts, bustling around the kitchen making coffee. He hummed a little song Haruhi didn't know, oblivious to his daughter's spying and the fact that a Cupid had been in the house not twelve hours ago.

Or had he?

Haruhi groaned, placing a hand on her head and pulling her herself back into her room. She slid to the ground, using the door as leverage, bent her head low and sighed.

"Of course it wasn't real," she said. "Seriously, Haruhi? A man with wings who makes people fall in love and wants you to do his job for him? That doesn't make any sense at all."

She got back on her feet, happy to put the nonsensical dream behind her and get ready for school. She had a test in history class today, an essay to read aloud in Lit class, and, of course, Host Club duties. Preparations for the big party were underway starting this afternoon. They were real, substantial things that needed her attention more than silly fantasies.

Haruhi dressed quickly and packed her bag. Once she'd done a final run through to make sure she had everything, she opened the door all the way and stepped out. Her father still had his back to her, but she smiled in his direction all the same.

"Morning, Dad," she greeted him. "If you want, I can make us some breakfast before I go."

"No time, I'm afraid," her father sighed dramatically. "I have to get to the bar early. One of my co-workers called in sick and they need someone to take over his shift."

"Just coffee it is then," Haruhi said sympathetically.

Ranka poured his cup and turned around, right at the moment Haruhi was walking into the kitchen. She looked at him and stopped. Her hand was caught hovering just above the spice cabinet, her other one frozen at her side. Haruhi stared at her father for the longest time while he ignorantly drank his coffee. Whenever he lifted the cup to his mouth, Haruhi had a full and perfect view of the string dangling off his left hand's fourth finger. It was pitch black and frayed at the end, almost like it had been ripped in half. It hung limp, running down his arm unnoticed by Ranka but clear as day for Haruhi.

"What the…" she trailed off.

Ranka blinked, coming out of his thoughts at the sound of her voice.

"Something wrong, dear?"

Completely dumbstruck, Haruhi was unable to answer. Taking in what she was seeing and what it indicated was slow going, because it _just couldn't be_.

"Haruhi?"

Her insides jolted back to life and she shook her head furiously.

"I'm fine," she said. "I need to get going before I'm late."

With great effort, Haruhi pulled her eyes away from her father and his string (or 'Life Thread' rather). Her legs started moving on their own, taking her not to the front door, but back to her room. Once their, she searched every little space for traces of Ozzie. This was easy thanks to her enhanced vision; she could see with perfect precision that there was no sign of him. Grinding her teeth in frustration, Haruhi exited the room and went to her father's, not caring if he saw her or what he might think. When that turned up nothing, Haruhi stormed towards the bathroom, then the living room, then the kitchen again. She looked absolutely everywhere a person might hide, but Ozzie was nowhere to be found.

"But it wasn't a dream," she muttered aloud while on her hands and knees, looking behind the couch.

She growled angrily and stood up, only to come face to face with her very concerned father.

"Sweetheart, what are you doing?" he demanded. "Are you alright?"

Haruhi bit her lip. "Yes! I was just looking for something, but I can't find it and it's really not that important anyway so I'd better go now I'll see you tonight."

She darted past him, ignoring the volley of protests he sent her way and jerking the door open.

"I love you Dad! Bye!"

Haruhi closed the door behind her and all but ran across the balcony and down the stairs. While heading to the street, she caught sight of the piled up garbage that had yet to be taken by the sanitation men. It was dented and thrown around haphazardly, exactly as Ozzie left it when he fell.

* * *

><p>Haruhi would never be able to figure out what had been worse: walking to the train station, being on the train, walking to the Campus, or being on the Campus. Or maybe they were all equally awful. It was an unsolvable mystery that didn't matter to her in the slightest anyway.<p>

The important thing was the strings. The Life Threads. They were _everywhere_.

Be they part of a couple or not, every single person she came across had one. The colors varied, but mainly stuck to white, orange and blue. The latter two, if she remembered correctly, indicated lust and false love. There were pinks and reds mixed in as well, and Haruhi had been quite surprised to find the arguing couple from yesterday back in front of that restaurant and battling furiously over something else. A red Life Thread connected them.

By the time she'd gotten to the school building, homeroom was ten minutes away and Haruhi had had more than enough of the Life Threads for several lifetimes. She knew instinctively that it wouldn't get much better from here. Going through the main entrance was like being smacked in the face by bright orange hand. There were maybe two people in the area whose Life Threads were white, but the rest was a cesspool of hormones.

Haruhi pushed her way through the crowd of students, not an easy task considering her petite frame. At one point, someone pink flashed in the corner of her eye, but Haruhi was too busy finding breathing room to turn and see who it was. When she reached an opening, Haruhi pushed her way to freedom, sighing in relief. It was short lived, as she was immediately assaulted from behind by two pairs of arms that entangled themselves around her affectionately.

"There you are, Haruhi," Hikaru and Kaoru said in unison. "We've been looking for you everywhere."

While used to the twins' antics at this point and only mildly annoyed with them, Haruhi was in no mood to deal with it today. She pulled herself away and backed up, noting the looks of surprise and confusion they wore.

"Sorry, guys," she said slowly. "I'm a little tired this morning. Rough night sleeping and all."

She rubbed her back for emphasis and glanced down as she spoke, taking in the white Life Threads both of them possessed. No romance in their near futures, it seemed. She wished she could say the same for everyone else in this school. All the bright colors were making her head throb.

"Are you okay?" Kaoru asked, reaching half-heartedly to her.

"I bet it's that cheap burlap sack you call a futon," Hikaru sniffed. "Why won't you let us buy you an actual bed?"

Haruhi sweat dropped. "Because you'd buy me a king sized mattress with a canopy or something else unnecessarily huge that won't fit in my room. Plus, I'm not going to let you spend money on me like that."

"Well, you should at least let us have our family's personal chiropractor take a look at you," said Kaoru.

"You're family's _what?_"

Haruhi never got an answer to that question, and her attention was diverted by something bullet-like getting her from behind and wrapping itself around her waist. A loud, child-like laugh took away all doubt of the supposed assailant's identity, along with the abnormally tall shadow hovering overhead.

"Hey, Haru-chan!" Hunny-senpai squealed, coming around to face her. "It's almost Valentine's Day! Aren't you excited?"

"Excited…? For what?" Haruhi forced out through the pain of Hunny squeezing her.

The deceptively strong young man gasped let go, freeing the grateful Haruhi. As she rubbed the pain out of her arms, Hunny stared incredulously at her, like she'd just grown an extra head or two.

"How can you say that, Haru-chan?" he asked, scandalized. "It's the greatest day ever! The day when all the girls give us free chocolates and cakes. I got over thirty last year!"

Haruhi sweat dropped, while her senpai went on daydreaming about the delicious chocolate, cherry, and whatever else flavored cakes he'd be inevitably receiving by the truck load.

'_Of course,' _she thought. _'Hunny-senpai __**would **__be more interested in cakes than romance. But wait…'_

Haruhi blinked her eyes a few times, wanting to make sure that her vision was true, and there really was a pink Life Thread hanging off of Hunny's finger. It bounced around with him, yet phased through whatever it hit, like it was nothing but air. Haruhi briefly glanced away at Mori-senpai. The tall third year was beside his cousin, arms flat at his sides, and Life Thread white as the twins'.

'_So it's only you, Hunny-senpai,' _she looked again at his dreamy expression. _'You have someone around here.'_

'It's a Cupid's job to get people together with their Destined Loves,' said Ozzie's voice in her head.

'_But how do I do that?' _Haruhi argued with herself. _'I don't know the first thing about match-making. Am I supposed to just go up to someone and tell them who they have to date?'_

So involved in her conundrum was she, Haruhi didn't notice the weird looks her friends were giving her. The longer it went on, the more bothered they became, until Mori-senpai saw fit to end the awkward silence by loudly clearing his throat. Haruhi was rudely jerked from her thoughts, and felt her face heat up with embarrassment when she saw that they were staring at her.

"Are you alright?" Mori-senpai asked.

"Yeah, Haru-chan, you seem upset," Hunny-senpai added reproachfully, his Usa-chan suddenly in hand. "Would holding Usa-chan cheer you up?"

"She's not upset, Senpai," Hikaru spoke up.

"She said she's feeling sick," Kaoru said.

Hunny-senpai's eyes widened with innocent fear and concern. He clutched Usa-chan tighter.

"Is she going to be okay?"

"That's what we're trying to figure out."

"I still think we should have the doctor take a look at her."

"Guys, I'm still here," Haruhi said when she couldn't take it anymore. "And I'm just fine. I'm not sick."

"But you just said you weren't feeling well," Hikaru protested. The others nodded in agreement.

Haruhi bit her lip. "What I meant was that I… I just…"

"Yes?" everyone barring Mori-senpai urged her on as they all leaned in, as if watching a particularly tense scene in an incredibly suspenseful movie. As it was, they only made Haruhi feel more uncomfortable, and more unsure of what to say.

'_Should I tell them the truth?' _she wondered, fidgeting a bit from her lack of resolve. _'Oh yeah, that'll work out. A man with wings broke into my house yesterday and gave the power to see whether people are in love or not. That's going to work out great.'_

"If you're sick, Haru-chan," Hunny-senpai said with big, quivering eyes. "Maybe you should go to the nurse."

Haruhi broke from her thoughts with a twitching of the eye.

"I already said, I'm not sick," she struggled to keep the volume of her voice level and not accidentally take out some of her frustration on her friends. "Yesterday was kind of tiring, that's all. I don't need a doctor, I just-"

Something sharp rapped against her neck, cutting Haruhi off and making her hiss in pain. She turned her head instinctively, not expecting to find anything that could explain the brief stinging. Something _was_ there, however. So close, that Haruhi's eyes needed a moment to adjust in order to clearly see it.

Or rather him.

The tiny man on her shoulder gave a stupidly wide grin, waving at her like she was little more than a friend he was seeing after a day apart.

"Morning, Haruhi," Ozzie said. "You mind if we talk somewhere more private?"

He made the tiniest of head gestures at the guys, and by extension the crowd of nameless students surrounding them. Haruhi glanced at them, then back at Ozzie, fully understanding and very much agreeing. She straightened her spine and looked again at her friends, putting on the most convincing fake smile she could muster. One that she'd practiced for use on days when she was in a bad mood, but had to entertain anyway. It usually worked, and appeared to be now. At least, Haruhi hoped it was.

"Sorry, I need to use the bathroom really bad. I'll see you in class!"

And she took off before anyone could respond or Hunny-senpai could remind her that they weren't in the same grade, and therefore she wouldn't see him in class. Haruhi made her way through the crowd, all too aware of the person sitting on her shoulder blade in a relaxed position like he wasn't being jostled every time someone knocked into them.

The bathroom door was in sight, and Haruhi made a break for it, entering and slamming it behind her before anyone had a chance to see the supposed male enter the ladies room. It was thankfully empty, as Haruhi saw when she turned around and took in the vacant stalls and unused sinks. She breathed a sigh of relief, but allowed herself no more stalling from the task at hand.

"What are you doing?" she cried as Ozzie slid down her arm onto the ceramic sink. Haruhi noted through her anger that she hadn't felt his movement at all.

"What am I doing?" Ozzie repeated, unreasonably affronted. "I'm trying to do my job! What, you thought I was just going to let you go off with my powers and use them all willy-nilly?"

Haruhi groaned with exasperation. "How do you expect me to misuse them? They're not exactly useful for anything."

Ozzie gasped.

"Well, if that isn't a slap in the face…" he muttered.

"Why are you here?" Haruhi asked, getting right to the point while simultaneously watching the door for someone coming in. "And how are you so small all of a sudden?"

She rested a hand mere centimeters away from the top of his head to further her point. Scowling, Ozzie sidestepped her and crossed his arms.

"I told you, I'm doing my job," he reiterated. "Which, at the moment, I can only get done through you. As for my size, it's just another one of my powers. I'm actually not here physically, I'm projecting my spirit to you in smaller form, and no one but you can see me."

Haruhi contemplated this, then nodded her head, though she wasn't fully appeased.

"Okay, where's your body then?"

"In a safe place," Ozzie vaguely replied. "That's not what's important right now anyway. You were going to tell those boys about me, weren't you?"

"No," Haruhi said with slight defensiveness. She wouldn't have done it, except Ozzie's accusing stare grated hard on her nerves. Not even one of Tamaki's 'father daughter rants' could get her this irritated.

Ozzie raised an eyebrow and placed his hands on his hips. He looked rather self-important for a six inch tall projection with a crumpled wing. When Haruhi didn't cave, he faltered slightly.

"Well good," he said curtly. "Because you can't. Tell anyone about me, that is."

"I figured," Haruhi remarked, looking again at the bathroom door when she thought she saw a shadow coming too close. Ozzie took note of this and waved his arms to regain her attention.

"You don't have to do that," he said. "You're the only one who can see me, remember?"

"I know that," Haruhi hissed back, not tearing her eyes away from the door, where the shadows of passing students had admittedly gone down to a minimum. "Which means that if someone comes in here and sees me talking to the air, they'll think I'm losing it."

"Oh, come on. Lots of people talk to themselves and they're mostly sane."

Haruhi glared at him, one eye twitching slightly. Ozzie didn't give in and stared back. It went on tediously for some time until Ozzie finally sighed and threw his hands up.

"Fine, fine. I'll keep quiet," he said while climbing up her arm and sitting back down on her shoulder. Haruhi still couldn't feel his presence, only hear his soft breathing next to her ear. It didn't even make her hair flutter.

Haruhi would have argued further that he should just go and wait for her to come home, but two things stopped her. One was the realization that she had no idea where he physically was right now and asking him to leave might put him in jeopardy of being found. The other was the five minute bell, signaling that it was time to get to class. Ever the punctual student, Haruhi wasn't about to be marked as tardy for any reason.

She glanced at Ozzie, who smiled innocently. Haruhi could almost see the halo above his head, and it made her wish he were solid so she could flick him off. As it was, she had no other choice besides grabbing her school bag and exiting the bathroom, Ozzie kicking his legs out and humming a meaningless little tune all the while.

* * *

><p>It wound up not being a very good day for Haruhi, not in the slightest. Though she made to class on time and listened carefully to her professor's lessons and took detailed notes, by the time her final period came around, Haruhi had only learned one thing:<p>

Ozzie never kept his word.

Haruhi knew this because despite his earlier promise of silence, not a minute could go by that Ozzie wouldn't talk through. He went on about anything and everything job related. Pointing people out, explaining why their blue Life Thread relationships weren't going to work out, stories about his success getting Person A with Person B.

"And all I really had to do was put their horses together in the stable. I wished I'd known that earlier, it would've save me a lot of digging."

And somehow, he never ran out of things to say.

"So that guy two seats over is very staunch about his political views. Now his girlfriend three rows ahead is more of a free spirit type. She's open minded and interested in what he has to say and all that, but he's a changer. He has his vision of a perfect woman and she's not it. So he's going to try and make her into it, and she's not going to like that one bit. All in all, I give it two weeks."

On and on for hours.

"I think compatibility has a lot to do with personal interests. Opposites do attract to an extent, but you also need to have some common ground. Couples who can literally agree on nothing are just as doomed to fail as those who are exactly alike in every way. The only difference is the latter can involve some sort of weird family complex that needs dealing with psychologically speaking."

Only a few his comments were in any way useful.

"You may have noticed that you can't see your own Life Thread. See, part of our rules and regulations are that Cupids can't see the Life Threads of themselves or other Cupids. Of course, since you're not really a Cupid, I can't see yours perfectly. Don't bother asking me about it, I can't tell you. I can't tell you about your Destined Love either aside from that you definitely have one. As for whether you've met or not, my lips are sealed. I can tell you that it is a guy though. So if you've ever questioned yourself, rest assured-"

Haruhi groaned.

* * *

><p>The end of the school day brought to Haruhi the promise of her familiar, comfortable home and warm futon. If she could just pretend she was tired and needed a little rest, maybe she could sleep the day away and not have to listen to Ozzie anymore. That might have been rude, and Ozzie wasn't a bad person all in all, but Haruhi was close to smacking her head against something and beyond caring.<p>

It wasn't until the front entrance of the school was in sight that Haruhi remembered she had a Host Club meeting.

She moved quickly, having missed a good amount of prep time thanks to her faux pas. Haruhi could already hear Kyoya-senpai in her head, his smarmy voice telling her that this would be added to her debt while the twins all but molested her and Tamaki screamed incoherently at them. Just another day at the Host Club.

Only this time, she'd also have a tiny man chattering in her ear.

Haruhi gave the painted brick wall a glance and wondered how many times she'd have to bang her head on it before she fell unconscious.

Granted, Ozzie had been strangely silent since the end of her last class. Though they passed several students and teachers with orange or blue Life Threads, not a word was spoken about them. Were he not clearly there in her peripheral vision, Haruhi might have believed he was gone and really had just been a figment of her imagination. Which would mean she was going insane since the Life Threads were still very much there. They were what suddenly drove Ozzie to gasp and point at something up ahead.

"Look! Look over there!"

He sounded frantic, and more than a little excited. Haruhi looked at him, his finger still extended and trembling.

Though not sure where this was going, Haruhi followed it, finding another crowd of orange and white Life Threads. She got up on tip-toes, looking harder, and soon her efforts struck gold.

A girl sat on the sidelines, reading a thin hardcover book against the window and ignoring the vocal populace around her. The Life Thread around her finger was unmistakably pink, the first of it's kind Haruhi had seen in this school since Hunny-senpai. Speaking of which, did Ozzie know about Hunny-senpai? He hadn't said anything before when-

"Hey, hey!" Ozzie snapped his fingers in her face. "Focus. We have work to do now. You have to get them together."

"Them?" Haruhi repeated, slightly distracted.

Ozzie slapped a hand on his face and pointed again, this time at something far away from the girl. This time, it was a boy now, probably in the same grade as the girl. He was across the hall, talking amiably with a teacher about something or other. The girl turned a page of her book and kept reading. The boy said something that made his teacher laugh. Neither of them were aware of each other in any way, and yet the boy's Life Thread was just as pink as the girl's.

"I don't think they know each other," Ozzie was saying, more to himself than to Haruhi. "That's not the right shade of pink. This'll be a bit more difficult then… well, I'm sure you're up to it!"

"Me?" Haruhi whispered, careful around the barrage of students closely within earshot.

Ozzie gave her a flat look. "No, that one guy over by the water fountain picking his nose. OF COURSE YOU!"

Haruhi narrowed her eyes, highly unamused by his tone and shouting. Even if no one else could hear him, it wasn't something she felt was necessary when his mouth and her ear were in such close proximity. When he grew tired of waiting for her to move, Ozzie began tugging hard at Haruhi's hair. She gasped at the sting, and also out of surprise that she could feel that at all.

"Come on," he ordered her. "Go and set them up before they get away!"

"How am I supposed to do that?"

Ozzie thought for a second. "Well, normally when I'm at work, I set up a romantic scenario and use persuasion to help one of them, usually the more outgoing of the two, make the first move… but that won't work here. I wasn't able to give you my persuasion powers."

"Well, thanks for the help," Haruhi answered, a vein popping out of her forehead.

"Anytime."

Haruhi sent a glare his way and was ignored. Forcing her aggravation into a more manageable state, she focused on the task at hand. Luckily, the potential couple hadn't moved since she last saw them. That was subject to change, however, as the boy's teacher had excused herself, and he was only still hanging around because his bag needed rearranging. Haruhi watched him fumble with it, getting down on his knees to make it easier. Deciding it would be best to start with him, Haruhi flexed her fingers a few times, took a deep breath, and started towards her first job as a Substitute Cupid.

With his head down, the boy didn't see Haruhi coming until she was directly in front of him, her shoes right in his line of sight. He paused, head tilted to one side before looking up at Haruhi, who smiled.

"Hello," she greeted him. "My name is Fujioka Haruhi."

The boy furrowed his brow and frowned, not a very friendly look at all, Haruhi noted.

"Hi," he answered awkwardly. "Can I… help you with something?"

Haruhi eyed the girl one more time, making sure she hadn't left. Once that was confirmed, she went back to the boy. Ozzie clung to her hair and leaned in, waiting with anticipation for her next move.

"It's about that girl over there," Haruhi motioned at her. "I was just thinking… you should ask her out."

Ozzie made an odd, strangled sound and almost slipped off of her shoulder. While he struggled with not falling, the boy blinked dumbly. He looked at the girl for a second, then back at Haruhi.

"Why would I do that?"

Now it was Haruhi's turn to feel the tension. She felt like walking away, and really wanted to in fact. She instead remained in place and nodded with resolve.

"I think you may like each other if you try."

The boy opened his mouth wordlessly. He glanced from side to side a few times, then stood up tall, much taller than Haruhi could ever hope to be. Judging by the way he held himself, like he was ready to defend against any perceivable attack one could throw at him, Haruhi doubted her efforts were paying off.

"Okay, I have to go," he said. "Nice meeting you, Fujioka."

He turned on a heel and left, sparing not a glance at the oblivious girl by the window. As fate would have it, she stopped to check her watch right as the boy disappeared around the corner. She put her book away and stretched, walking away in the opposite direction and leaving Haruhi alone with one very unhappy Cupid miniature.

"What was _that?" _he raged, kicking at her neck to create a light stinging.

Haruhi swatted at him, but her hand sailed harmlessly through him. She considered asking him about that later when they were both calm, or at least she would have, were she not so busy being affronted by his sorry attitude.

"I did what you told me to do," she argued.

"Oh no, don't you pin this on me," Ozzie raged, poking at her accusingly. "I said get them together, I don't recall 'freak the guy out and send him running' anywhere in that statement."

"Look, how many times to I have to tell you: I don't know the first thing about this," Haruhi didn't realize that she was shouting now. "I don't know how to make people fall in love, I don't even really care about Valentine's Day. This is your job, and if you're so amazing at it, how about some actual help next time?"

Ozzie let out a loud, frustrated groan. "Alright, forget it. We'll try again later, so just get to your club already."

Though still fuming, Haruhi knew he was right and that they had to stop fighting now. The clock tower outside showed that she had barely five minutes to get to the third music room. Every second she wasted was another couple of yen that could be added to her ever growing debt. Kyoya-senpai would not be getting that satisfaction if she could help it.

Haruhi broke into a run. In the empty building with everyone either in their clubrooms or offices, no one was around to make her slow down. Ozzie was unaffected as ever by the shaking of her shoulder. He sat with his head lightly smacking into her neck and eyes sliding over the passing walls and windows, taking nothing in. His mind was currently elsewhere.

"We've got a long way to go," he muttered.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: So, Haruhi's first job as a substitute Cupid didn't go very well. Will she improve? Find out next time.**


	4. Slight Improvement of Cupid

Hosting wasn't fun for Haruhi that day. Though it had never been her favorite thing to do, usually she could find a way to enjoy it. She liked most of the girls who saw her regularly. They were starry-eyed, sure, but they also had a lot to say underneath. They liked to talk about their home lives and what they wanted for the future. She found she could learn a lot about who they really were. They were always so open about their feelings. So aside from the whole 'gushing over her' thing, it was often a pleasant time.

Not today.

Today, the girls were the same as always. One wanted to know about Haruhi's plans for the weekend, one was engaging in some obvious, yet gentle flirting with her, another was telling a funny story about her father's last company get-together at her house. The difference was that Haruhi could now see their Life Threads, their bright orange Life Threads. The looks of longing they always gave Haruhi now took on a different meaning, one that probably should have been clear from the start when she thought about it. It was all Haruhi could do not to look at the clock every couple of seconds. She wanted today to be over hours ago.

"So that's when I said to him, 'You can't do that, red and yellow do _not_ go together!'"

"Unbelievable," the flirty girl shook her head.

"What do you think, Haruhi?" the storyteller asked, leaning in close. Her hand edged towards Haruhi's, the end of her string coming to rest on her lap. Haruhi flinched, but kept her calm enough that she didn't jump away screaming.

"Oh, uh…" Haruhi swallowed something back. "It sounds very interesting."

The girls blinked, furrowing their brows at her nervous behavior. Haruhi stretched her neck to one side and offered up a smile, the faux charm of which eased them and got the storyteller to move away. Relieved, Haruhi was more than happy to bid them farewell a few minutes later when their appointment ended. As they disappeared out the door, Haruhi glanced to the side at Ozzie. The miniature Cupid had been busying himself with picking at the cushions for the last hour. He appeared not all that amused by it, just doing whatever he could to stave off boredom. At least he wasn't talking anymore.

"In case you were wondering," he said, not looking up. "Those orange Life Threads were _definitely_ for you."

Haruhi sweat dropped and sunk back into her seat. "Thanks. Good to know."

More of her guests were quick to arrive, and once again, it was orange Life Threads galore. Ozzie made a sound like he was going to say something, but a quick glare from Haruhi shut him up. She really didn't want to hear about anymore girls and their lust for her.

She excused herself to get some fresh tea cups, even though she still had a few unused ones on the table. It didn't matter; anything to get a reprieve from those telling Life Threads. Over by the kitchen area, there was nobody close by. Kyoya-senpai, his Life Thread white as snow, was in the far corner, too busy with whatever he was writing to see her. Hikaru and Kaoru were doing their act for a pair of highly appreciative fangirls, Hunny-senpai was being cute and fawned over, Mori-senpai was ever the stoic one.

And then there was Tamaki-senpai. Haruhi hadn't been sure how to handle Tamaki-senpai. All of the strange feelings he'd been bringing out in her paled in comparison to the shock his Life Thread put her through.

It was pink.

Pink!

Tamaki-senpai was in love! Or at least, his Destined Love was nearby. The girls around him unsurprisingly sported orange. Haruhi didn't even need to ask Ozzie who the target of their affections was. She wondered how her Senpai would've reacted to it, had he the power to see the Life Threads. Knowing Tamaki, he'd be much more open to the role of a Cupid than Haruhi would ever be. He'd probably be a lot better at it too. She could just see him, prancing about and using flowery words to wrap potential couples around his little finger and steer them in the right direction. Perhaps he had missed his calling.

Haruhi watched as her senpai offered the girl next to him a refill of her coffee mug, saying something that made her face flush. She felt a stab of something in her stomach, something that made her want to smack the girl over the head until she lost consciousness. Haruhi shook her head, surprised at herself for thinking such a thing about Tamaki-senpai's guest. She looked away, her eyes finding Kyoya-senpai again. He was chatting casually with a girl she vaguely recognized as a classmate of hers. Predictably, this girl had an orange Life Thread, and the way she looked at Kyoya betrayed exactly who she was after. Haruhi turned that notion over in her mind, of some random girl flirting with Kyoya-senpai. It was amusing to her, since she doubted Kyoya would ever respond to something like that, but otherwise gave her no strong emotion one way or the other. Haruhi found she really wasn't bothered by it, nor by the girls who wanted Hikaru, Kaoru, Hunny, or Mori.

It was only Tamaki's fangirls that made her feel so inexplicably frustrated.

Then there was his Life Thread to think about. How was she going to find his Destined Love? So many girls came to see him every day. If it was one of them, how would she figure out which?

'_Well, they'll have a pink Life Thread, for starters,' _Haruhi's inner voice, which was starting to sound annoyingly like Ozzie, spoke. _'So I think we can rule out… everyone here at the moment.'_

Haruhi pursed her lips and nodded. She eyeballed her empty table and knew it wouldn't be so for much longer, she couldn't afford to waste any more time. The cupboard door opened and Haruhi removed three clean teacups. Stacking them neatly, one on top of the other, Haruhi made sure they were steady, then firmly grasped the bottom one and slowly pulled it out.

"Haruhi?"

The cups shook as she bolted upright, the one on top coming dangerously close to falling off. Haruhi whirled around and pressed her body against the counter. From this close, she had to crane her neck all the way up to look Tamaki in the eye. It was times like this that she marveled at how much taller than her he really was. Haruhi felt her heart rate increase along with her breathing. She struggled to keep it under control and made a mental note to look up those symptoms online later; there had to be something really wrong with her.

"Hey, Senpai," she greeted him, reaching behind her to make sure the teacups were okay. "I'm just finishing up here. You can go ahead."

She started to walk away, nodding goodbye to Tamaki first. She'd barely put a shred of distance between them when his hand wrapped around her wrist, holding her in place. Haruhi stilled, his strange behavior, coupled with the serious look he gave her when she turned her head, bewildering her.

"Senpai?"

He frowned. "You didn't answer your phone this morning."

Haruhi stared blankly at him, then her eyes widened slightly as she remembered his promise from last night. He had said he would call her, and Haruhi had been so busy dealing with the winged man on her porch that she'd completely forgotten. Of course, that was easy to understand given the situation, but still.

Haruhi cleared her throat. "Yeah, sorry about that. I overslept and I had to really hurry to get to school this morning. The train isn't going to wait for me after all."

Tamaki's face softened a bit, but he didn't look convinced.

"Hikaru and Kaoru said you were complaining this morning about a lack of sleep."

Haruhi clenched her fists tightly. Maybe if she did that hard enough, all of her reaction would be diverted there and nothing would appear on her face.

"Haruhi," he reached for her again, this time taking her with both hands by the shoulders. Haruhi was reminded of the time at the beach, when he'd been so angry at her for trying to fight a pair of boys much bigger and stronger than her. "You really were scared last night, weren't you?"

She blinked, not understanding what he meant until another important memory hit her. There had been a storm yesterday. It was the whole reason she was in this mess with Ozzie. How could she have forgotten?

Coming back to reality, Haruhi took a deep breath and let it out to try and calm herself.

"Senpai," she started softly. "I'm sorry I didn't answer, but really, I was fine last night. Nothing went wrong."

"Then why lie?" he asked.

'_I'm starting to hate his serious side,' _Haruhi thought to herself. _'Why can't he just overreact and go to the corner like he usually does?'_

"I'm not lying," she insisted. "I had a hard time going to sleep last night, and when I finally did it was already early morning. That's why I woke up late and to rush to leave the house and that's why I missed your call."

He faltered, pouting like a lost puppy, very much like the Tamaki she was used to. Relieved, Haruhi fidgeted a little, hoping that would prompt him to let her go so she could say goodbye for real and go back to her table. She knew they both had guests waiting for them. Tamaki didn't let up, however. His head covered his eyes in shadow. Haruhi had no idea what he was thinking.

"I was very worried…" he said softly.

She could feel her resolve crumble. Tamaki looked so sad and hurt, she almost wanted to hug him. Controlling those urges was harder than she'd expected, but Haruhi managed it.

"I'm sorry," she answered. "I really would have called you if something went wrong."

Both their eyes widened, but for different reasons. Tamaki's were out of shock and awe, and Haruhi's was disbelief that she'd actually said something like that, and out loud even. Her Senpai broke out into a grin, demonstrating his amazing ability to swing between emotions instantaneously by shoving his bright and gleeful face into hers, close enough so that their noses were touching.

"Really?" he squealed. "You mean it?"

"E-eh?" was all Haruhi could manage.

As usual, Tamaki didn't notice her less than warm reception of his so-called 'fatherly' love. He just went on with the dreamy looks while a pair of identical shadows slinked up on either side of them. With them came a darkening of the atmosphere around them. Their Cheshire cat grins were wide and filled with shiny white teeth.

"Are they making out?" Hikaru asked his brother.

"I think so," Kaoru answered.

"I must say, I'm shocked."

"Never knew the boss had it in him."

"Smoochy-smoochy," they sang together.

"GET OUT OF HERE!" Tamaki screamed, hatefully snarling at the snickering brothers. "DEMON TWINS!"

Tamaki ran after them when they took off, screaming the entire way. It ended when Kyoya took notice, and stopped Tamaki in his tracks to say something to him. Haruhi was to far away to hear what it was, but as her Senpai spent the next few minutes crying in the corner while Hikaru and Kaoru went with raucous laughter back to their table, she got a good grasp of what it amounted to.

Sighing, Haruhi got back to her table, where a group of giggly fangirls, all with painfully orange Life Threads, awaited her. Haruhi sat down and greeted them, masking her torrid emotions with a care free smile that made them all blush. She paid no attention to Ozzie, and as such, missed the thoughtful way he spent the rest of the club meeting watching her.

* * *

><p>"So, are you enjoying my powers so far?"<p>

The question came randomly when Haruhi was crossing the street a block away her apartment complex. With any luck, she'd be home in less then five minutes. At this time of day, it would be empty, and Haruhi badly wanted to be away from people right now.

She had been walking all this time as if she were wearing horse blinders. Not once did her eyes stray from what was straight ahead. It was only by doing this that she was able to mostly avoid looking at the mixture of colorful Life Threads that surrounded her on all sides. That was the last thing she needed when she had so many other things on her mind, like homework and getting dinner started and annoying blonde idiots who gave her odd feelings she couldn't explain. Ozzie was lounging on her shoulder lengthwise, very quiet up until now. Haruhi almost made the mistake of turning when he spoke, but caught herself at the last minute and simply glowered at his cheekiness without looking at him. This was the only answer she was willing to give him, and Ozzie scoffed when that became clear.

"You don't need to be such a pessimist," he said.

"These powers of yours get old fast," Haruhi said out the corner of her mouth.

"Oh come on," Ozzie stood, making him much easier to see as he threw his arms outward. "You could try being a little more happy. I mean, look around you! Valentine's Day is upon us and love is in the air!"

Haruhi growled.

She stopped at the curb in front of a DON'T WALK sign. Since no one else was nearby, she glanced to the side experimentally. She immediately regretted it when a small crowd walked by, going in the opposite direction. Though there was one couple with a red Life Thread, it was mostly more of the same. White, blue, orange, orange, white, orange, blue, orange…

'_How is this town a hot spot again?' _she wondered, not sure yet if she should say this for Ozzie to hear.

The people passed, leaving Haruhi to see a small café across the street. It wasn't too fancy, not like anything the host club would frequent, but nice enough. Fresh flowers were planted on the window sill and the building itself was made of fine red brick. Enormous windows took up most of the space, sparkly clean and giving a perfect view of the people inside. That a pair of pink Life Threads were visible had to be a coincidence. What were the odds that they'd belong to a potential couple and not just two random strangers who just so happened to both have pink Life Threads? At least, that's what Haruhi thought until Ozzie started pulling at her hair and pointing.

"Those two," he said.

Haruhi nodded. "Yeah, thought so."

She eyed the sign again, it now read WALK. With a tired sigh, she stepped into the street the other way and crossed towards the café. Her ears filled with the sounds of cars and people talking, the latter of which got worse as soon as she opened the door and stepped into the café.

Inside, it was warm and a bit cramped. The female half of the perspective couple sat right up next to the day, at a tiny roundtable in front of the window. She wore a baggy shirt with skin tight jeans, and her hair was cut short, even shorter than Haruhi's Her eyes were on the people outside, her expression one of boredom.

Haruhi watched her for another moment, then looked at the man in the far off corner. He was dressed plainly and had his nose in a book and headphones on. Uncaring of the world around him, he bobbed his head to the music and tapped his fingers against the glass.

A nervous cough disrupted Haruhi's observations. She glanced to the side at Ozzie and found him kicking his legs out and staring at the floor.

"What's wrong?" she asked, not too worried about being overheard amidst all this noise.

"Nothing," he answered unconvincingly. "It's just… you know, if you don't want to do this, we can call it a day and try again tomorrow."

Haruhi stared at him.

"Because you know, one of my co-workers will probably be around eventually and they could probably handle this. These two look like they frequent customers, so they'll be back eventually. You know?"

Ozzie shrugged, smiling apologetically and in generally acting like he didn't see the intense glare Haruhi was sending him. He may not have realized it yet, but something had ignited inside of Haruhi the second she heard his suggestion. It was something she'd felt many times before, usually when faced with a particularly difficult test or a twenty page essay on economics. This need to succeed no matter what, to never give up and to keep trying until she got it.

"No," she said firmly.

Ozzie blinked. "Are you sure?"

"I want to try again," she answered, in a way that left no room for argument. Ozzie silenced immediately, and remained as such while Haruhi walked down the length of the room towards the back. The man sat right beside the napkin dispenser, so Haruhi stood there for over a minute, pulling out several napkins as slowly as she could while glancing at the man's table.

His book appeared to be in another language, either French or Italian from the looks of it. Though Haruhi had no idea just what he was reading, the language alone told her that he was some kind of intellectual, because everything about his physical features was purely Japanese. When he made a sudden movement, she jumped, scared for a moment that she'd been caught staring. Then the man switched his walkman open and pulled out the CD inside. He reached into his knapsack for his case, replaced the old one and removed a new.

This one was a store brand blank disk, words written big at the top and bottom in black sharpie.

"Flying Goats in Paris?" the perplexed Haruhi mouthed the name.

Ozzie snorted. "Wow, band names really suck nowadays."

Haruhi ignored him and walked away, stopping at an empty table in between the man and woman. Seating herself, she ordered a plain latte from the waiter who approached and sipped it slowly when it arrived five minutes later. She stayed there for almost twenty minutes, alternating between watching the man and watching the woman. Neither of them looked like they'd be leaving soon, so Haruhi had no problem taking her time. The same couldn't be said for Ozzie.

"So are you just going to sit here and let them get away, or what?"

Haruhi gave him a flat look, one eye twitching slightly with annoyance.

"I am _not_ just going to charge in like last time," she said. "That's why it didn't work. This time, I'm going to watch them first. Try and get in idea of what they're like before making a move."

"Okay, I guess that makes sense," Ozzie admitted with a nod. "Just be quick. They could leave at any moment, and I'm pretty sure she's almost finished with her drink."

Haruhi turned her head to the girl and found that Ozzie was indeed correct. Barely a quarter of her coffee was left in the clear cups the café offered.

Haruhi got to her feet immediately, Ozzie clamoring to get back on her arm as she started forward towards the young woman. She was drinking the last of her coffee when Haruhi stepped into view. She glanced at her for all of a second before looking away, completely disinterested.

"Hello," Haruhi said.

"…hi," the young woman answered after a pause, during which she gave Haruhi another, more bored and annoyed, once over.

Haruhi shifted her weight from one leg to another. The awkwardness was growing fast and barely two words had been exchanged between them.

"Are you enjoying your coffee?" Haruhi asked, blurting out the first thing that came to mind.

"It's okay."

"Yeah, mine wasn't that good either," Haruhi chuckled, her poor attempt at a joke falling flat before she'd even finished it. "So… you here alone?"

The woman glanced in all directions, making a bit of a show of it.

"Gee, what do you think?"

Haruhi made a face, not liking this woman's tone at all. She was prepared to just walk off and let her go on without her supposed Destined Love, but Ozzie would never allow it, and she knew it. Not only that, she really didn't like the idea of just giving up all because of one rude person.

"I was just thinking, if you were alone, that would be pretty sad, you know? Valentine's Day is coming after all."

"Oh yeah," the woman looked up with false joy at the prospect of the holiday. "Valentine's Day! Such a wonderful day for candy companies to manipulate the masses into wasting all their money on whatever random dumbass you have a crush on this week. It's all capitalist bullcrap."

"Hey, say that to my face, why don't ya! Nobody talks about my day like that!" Ozzie shouted at her, leaning so far off of Haruhi's shoulder that he was almost horizontal. "Haruhi, slap her for me!"

'_Actually, I kind of agree with her,' _Haruhi thought to herself.

"Besides," the woman continued with a smirk. "I don't go for younger guys. Sorry, junior."

Haruhi closed her eyes and exhaled deeply, a trick her mother had taught her long ago for when dealing with people like this. Her flippant attitude and snide comments were getting on Haruhi's last nerve. She reminded herself why she was doing this, repeating it again and again in her mind like a broken record. She was suddenly not all convinced that it was worth it.

"That wasn't what I meant," she said, controlling her wavering tone as best she could. "Actually, I was thinking that guy right there. He's not with anyone either."

The woman raised an eyebrow, clearly wanting Haruhi to leave now. Still, she spared a glance for the man, but didn't appear all that impressed. In fact, she scoffed at him.

"That guy? Please, he has preppy written all over him. No thanks."

She turned herself back towards the window, everything and everyone else out once again. This wasn't about to deter Haruhi though.

"What makes you say that?" she asked. "He might be a nice guy."

"Here's a question," the woman whirled back around. "Who _are_ you? Why are you bothering me?"

"I'm just saying," Haruhi snapped, feeling embarrassment wash over her along with fast growing disdain for this stupid job she'd been saddled with. "He seems pretty smart. That book he's reading is in a whole different language."

The woman rolled her eyes and grabbed her jacket. Ozzie gasped and tugged at her hair more, frantically hissing "Emergency! Do something!" over and over again in her ear until she jerked her shoulder up and down to shut him up.

"He was listening to some pretty exotic music too," she kept going. "You know, he's a cultured type. At least I think his music was foreign. I know I've never heard of… Flying Goats or whatever it wa-"

"Wait a minute," the woman had stopped right in the middle of putting her jacket on. With only one arm in the sleeve, she grasped Haruhi by the shoulders tightly, her hand going right though Ozzie as she stared at the much smaller girl with wide eyes. "Flying Goats in Paris? That guy is listening to _Flying Goats in Paris_?"

Haruhi paused to share an unsure glance with Ozzie, who probably wasn't going to be of much help right now anyway.

"Uh… yes?"

The woman's jaw dropped. When it came back you, she was grinning so hard, it would tear her face in half if she wasn't careful.

"Oh my god!" she cried. "I thought I was the only one who knew that band!"

She let go of Haruhi without another word and charged at the guy. Her Life Thread moved with her, reaching outward as she stopped to say something him. He looked up from his book after first removing his headphones. He was initially baffled by the complete stranger coming up to him, but then his face lit up. Before Haruhi knew it, they were chatting like old friends and sharing a pair of headphone, bobbing their heads with the music, smiling joyfully at each other.

Ozzie was tense for a moment, as if not believing what had just happened. Then he gave a loud whoop that made Haruhi's ear hurt and jumped up and down several times.

"That was great!" he cheered. "You did it, Haruhi! You really did it!"

"Did what?" Haruhi asked, looking away from the happy couple. "I told her he liked the same music as her. That's not really anything to get worked up over."

"Are you kidding?" Ozzie cried, spreading his arms out wide in a showy manner. "You've just ignited the spark of their love! I know it sounds cheesy, but this is how it all begins. They have something in common, soon they find more things they have in common, then a couple of things they don't. That starts them on the process of learning from each other, and eventually, it leads to love. All because of you."

Ozzie sighed and flopped down on his back, dreamily staring at the ceiling fan.

"It's moments like this that really make the job," he said happily.

Haruhi said nothing and tried not to acknowledge him as she left the money for her drink on the table and left the café. She took one last look at the pair before stepping outside. They looked so happy, the woman in particular.

'_I still don't feel like I really did anything.'_

Ozzie was humming a song to himself the entire rest of the way home. After a few minutes of hearing it non-stop, Haruhi came to the realization that he was repeating it endlessly. And by the time they were at her front door, she was absently humming along with him, much to her consternation.

"By the way," she said while putting the key in the door and unlocking it. "You still haven't told me where you've hidden yourself."

Ozzie's humming stopped. "Oh that? Well you see…"

He trailed off , as Haruhi had gotten the lock undone and thrown open the door. In an instant, words were no longer necessary. Haruhi could see with perfect clarity her father in the kitchen, this time stirring a soup pot. In the living room was Ozzie, at regular size, sitting comfortably in the armchair by the corner. Haruhi's eyes bore into him, so she couldn't see that the miniature Ozzie on her shoulder had vanished.

"Hey there, Haruhi!" life-sized Ozzie greeted her with a weak grin and wave.

The bag fell from her hand, collapsing on the ground and making her father lean over to see what had caused the noise.

"Haruhi," he said simply.

"Dad, I can explain!"

"Well, I hope so," Ranka said, placing his hands on his hips and in general appearing ready to deliver a harsh punishment. "What do you think you're doing, leaving your school bag there were anyone walking through the door could step on it?"

Haruhi's face didn't go back to normal right away, so she was stuck staring back at her father with a needlessly frightened and pale face as he reached down to pick up her bag. All the while, he was muttering to himself about tidiness and responsibility. Placing the school bag beside the couch, Ranka proceeded into the living room and went to sit down. Right in Ozzie's chair.

"DON'T!" Haruhi shouted.

Ranka, who had been just about to crouch down, shot back up straight.

"What is it?" he asked, becoming guarded. "Did you spot an intruder?"

'_You have no idea,' _Haruhi thought, looking to Ozzie for some sort of explanation and getting nothing in return except another wave and a tiny head gesture at her dad. Just what was going on now?

"There uh…" Haruhi paused to think. "I thought I saw a spider on the wall, but-"

"SPIDER!" Ranka screeched, jumping away from the armchair and scrambling for his room.

With him gone, Haruhi's pent up anger and panic burst free. She directed all at Ozzie.

"What are you doing out in the open like this?" she demanded, making a beeline for the chair and standing over him, glowering.

He scoffed.

"Come on, I wasn't born yesterday," he drawled. "I've made myself invisible and inaudible to everyone but you. Just another awesome power of mine."

He pushed the chair back as far as it would go, looking very pleased with himself as he rested his head on his hands and closed his eyes.

"Trust me, you don't have to worry one bit about anything."

The door to Ranka's room burst open, and out came Haruhi's wild-eyed and red faced father. He wielded a broom with a metallic silver handle and spun it around in front of him like a samurai sword. This almost knocked over a vase of flowers, but Haruhi caught it in time, only spilling a few drops of water.

"Alright," Ranka growled, crouching low like a hunter on the prowl. "Where is that spider? I'll make it pay for setting foot in this house!"

While Ozzie snickered behind her, Haruhi let out a groan and went to begin the daunting task of calming her father down and getting the broom away from him before he took out a window in his excitement. Hopefully, if she got it done fast, she could still get some rest before starting on her homework.

"Oh by the way," Ozzie called out. "I just saw another pair of pink Life Threads go by and they are definitely supposed to connect. Get out there when you're done here, okay?"

'_I hate Valentine's Day,' _Haruhi thought.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: And Haruhi has her first success! Bringing together... a pair of hipsters.**

**Well, I guess hipsters need love too.**


	5. Dance of Cupid

"So you really think Hiroshi-kun likes me?"

Haruhi smiled at Kushina, her downstairs neighbor of over six years and admitted hopeless romantic. According to Ozzie, she'd been in a number of bad relationships already, mostly with guys who wanted a dainty little housewife more than an intellectual equal and dumped her when it became clear that she wouldn't submit to that. In the end, it all came back to Hiroshi, an old friend of Kushina's whom she'd recently gotten back in touch with. He was also her Destined Love.

"Give it a try, Kushina-san," Haruhi said reassuringly. "I know it's been hard for you in the past, but Hiroshi-kun is your friend. I think he'd be good for you. He'd treat you right."

Kushina looked away, wistful, and likely a little fearful as well. Haruhi waited patiently for her response, trying to ignore Ozzie's hanging off her earlobe and whispering what to do next if she reacted negatively. At the moment, his advice was not wanted or helpful. When Kushina came back to reality, she wasn't smiling. However, she did have a determination about her that wasn't there before.

"Okay," she said. "I'll give it a try. Thanks for the advice, Haruhi-chan."

Haruhi nodded. "My pleasure."

They exchanged goodbyes, and then Kushina was off, her pink Life Thread guiding her into the street and towards Hiroshi.

As she disappeared from view, Haruhi heard a sniffling sound next to her ear that could only be caused by one person. Ozzie was wiping his eyes on his shirt, heedless of the stains left behind. He didn't stop even when he saw Haruhi staring at him with one eyebrow raised.

"I'm sorry," he choked out. "Childhood Friend romance gets me right in the heart."

He pounded on his chest for emphasis.

"Is it really that big of a deal?" Haruhi asked.

"Well, it's very rare. Most people don't meet their Destined Loves until they're much older. In cases where they do, it's always so beautiful, and I just… I just…"

Ozzie dissolved into hysterical sobs, hugging as much of her neck as his small arms would allow, while Haruhi remained motionless, her head leaning on one side and her irritation with him palpable.

_'He'd better not try blowing his nose with my hair.'_

Sighing deeply, Haruhi turned and made her way back to her apartment at the end. The distance seemed far greater all of a sudden than it should have been, though that may have been the exhaustion talking.

The last two days had been nothing but matchmaking in between (and something during) classes and club duties. Best friends turned loves here, supposed bitter enemies with unresolved sexual tension there. She had seen more romantic comedy clichés brought to life than any Hollywood writer could ever hope to. In fact, Haruhi had half a mind to destroy her father's collection of romance movies just so she'd never have to see them again when this was finally over.

It was tiring work. Because Ozzie had been unable to give her any of his useful powers, she was stuck using words to bring people together. While her success rate was untarnished so far, it was exceedingly difficult getting people to trust her and not see her as just a random crazy person butting into their personal lives. The worst part was that Ozzie refused to let her take a break. If he saw a potential couple on the forefront, everything had to be dropped regardless of how important it might be. Haruhi could be performing open heart surgery with time running out and he wouldn't let up. His voice in her ear chattered without ceasing until she had no choice but to give in and get to work.

"Every day is one day closer to Valentine's Day," he would say. "You have to be ready. Because if you think this is tough, just you wait."

It wound up getting so bad that Haruhi almost fell asleep on the shoulder of one of her guests yesterday. Thankfully, she found it adorable, along with Haruhi subsequent embarrassed attempt at an apology.

She'd left early that day, at the first sign that they were closing. Tamaki tried calling after her, but Haruhi called back an excuse that she had extra homework to do and tried not to look too closely at his Life Thread. Something about that pink color left a bad taste in her mouth, more so when she thought about who it might attach to.

Reaching the door after what felt like hours, Haruhi entered her home. A burst of warm air hit her, a welcome change from the chill she'd been getting outside. Of course, shoulder Ozzie had already disappeared by the time his actual self was in view. He pointlessly wave hello and Haruhi ignored him, heading for her room, not stopping for anything.

She was prepared to lay down on her futon and sleep as much as the fates would allow before another potential couple randomly walked passed Ozzie's line of sight and he forced her out of bed again. Just like he had the previous two mornings. Currently, he was quiet, and so Haruhi was doubtless that no obstacles to an afternoon nap would appear.

"HARUHIII!"

She gasped in shock as her father grabbed her from behind and spun her around. He laughing happily, and Haruhi could've sworn she heard another, much heartier guffaw behind it. She threw a glare at Ozzie.

"Dad!" she called out, her voice shaking from the constant movement. "Put me down!"

"Aw, but Haruhi," Ranka whined. "You always love it when I spin you around."

"When I was _five_, I loved it!"

He laughed again, but slowed down all the same and released her.

"I'm sorry, Haruhi," he said as she backed away. "I'm just so excited about tonight, I can't barely contain it. By the way, do you like the dress I picked out for you? It goes so well with your eyes and with a little mousse in your hair, I just know you'll look fantastic!"

Ranka sighed, a dreamy look washing over him as he pictured Haruhi happy and smiling in a pretty dress. Meanwhile, the real Haruhi was very un-cutely staring at him with one eye twitching.

"Wait a minute," she said. "Party? Dress? Mousse? Dad, what are you talking about?"

"Don't you remember?" Ranka put his hands on his hips and shifted his weight to one foot. "My boss is having a big get together in honor of the holiday. He would have it on Valentine's Day proper, but everyone already had plans."

While Ranka was explaining this and unintentionally making Haruhi feel like tearing her hair out, Ozzie decided, with his vast wisdom, to make things worse by getting up and casually ambling over to her dad. He stood, unseen, behind him, grinning at Haruhi and flashing her a thumbs up.

Haruhi stared at him for a minute, then shook her head. There were more vital issues at hand than Ozzie being an idiot, and as long as he stayed invisible and inconspicuous, she frankly didn't care what stupid thing he did to try and annoy her.

"Dad," she said. "That sounds great and all, but I'm really tired and I was just about to go take a nap. So if it's okay with you, I think I'll sit this one ou-"

"Well of course it's not okay," Ranka said, his tone leaving no room for argument. "I told my boss I'd be bringing my daughter. He and his wife are anxious to see you again! Now, if you're going to take a nap before getting ready, that's fine. You just need to be up in twenty minutes so I can do your hair. I think we'll go with the strawberry scented spray tonight."

As Ranka was pondering this, Ozzie leaned over, placing a gentle hand on the other man's back as a devish smirk crossed his features. Ranka's face suddenly went blank.

"Wouldn't you rather go with the vanilla flavor?" Ozzie whispered in his ear.

He removed his hand and Ranka jolted. Haruhi watched her father shake his head, then glared incredulously at a much too satisfied looking Ozzie.

"You know," Ranka said. "I think we'll go with the vanilla flavored one instead. It suits you much better."

He grinned toothily at his daughter, almost as wide as Ozzie, who pridefully puffed out his chest.

"Power of persuasion," he said. "Isn't it awesome?"

A vein popped out of Haruhi's head.

* * *

><p>The party was a decidedly quiet affair. Though a decent amount of people took up the ballroom, most of them were grouped together at their tables when not dancing, speaking in hushed tones to the person next to them. They all dressed very nice, fitting for the occasion, but thanks to so much time around rich and fashion obsessed people, Haruhi was beginning to notice the difference between designer brand clothing and store bought replicas.<p>

Of course, the first thing on her mind were the Life Threads, same as ever.

There were a surprisingly number of red ones walking around, many of which belonged to same-sex couples. Haruhi, at one point, spotted what initially appeared to be a pair of woman, faces slathered with make-up, slow dancing together. On closer examination, however, both of them had definite five o'clock shadow and very muscular arms underneath those silk sleeves.

Almost everyone appeared quite happy to be there. The only one to share Haruhi's boredom was a surly woman standing peculiarly close to the main exit. Her dress was a plain, blue number. It lacked the bells and whistles everyone else sported, making her look somewhat out of place. She held an empty wine glass and glared at everyone to pass by, dissuading them from talking to her.

Growing bored, Haruhi glanced at Ozzie. Now back in his tiny form, the Cupid was hanging off the empty chair beside her, held up by his arms with his legs dangling. He laid his head down, eyes heavily lidded, and gave a sigh.

"Not gonna lie, I thought a Valentine's Day party would be more fun than this."

Haruhi shrugged at him half-heartedly.

"At least the orange Life Threads are at a minimum," he went on. A middle-aged couple passed their table, hands intertwined and a red Life Thread swaying to the rhythm of their steps. In an instant, Ozzie perked right up. "He- ey! I know those two! A buddy of mine set them up twelve years ago!"

"Hmm…"

Haruhi looked away, but much to her displeasure, that didn't stop Ozzie from launching into yet another story. She was drifting in and out of reality for the duration, only picking up bits and pieces of it and not caring to try and put them together. She sought out her Dad, and found him chatting up a (white Life Thread bearing) friend of his. The man leaned in close, whispering something in Ranka's ear that first made him gasp, then burst into hysterical laughter. He threw back the, thankfully empty, glass in his hand, allowing Haruhi full view of his Life Thread.

She took in the inky black color, a funny feeling arising; not a happy one either. Whatever it was, it told her to look away from that Life Thread and forget it ever existed. She would have been fine doing just that, but her much more overwhelming curiosity was always going to win out.

"Hey, Ozzie?" she said while he was in the middle of a pause. "Sorry to interrupt, but I wanted to ask-"

"Haruhi, I hope you're not talking to yourself. That's so unbecoming of a Host."

She froze in place. The smooth, silky voice made her shiver uncomfortably on top of mentally freaking out over him actually being here. Since when was this his kind of party anyway? Haruhi turned slowly, and found her bespectacled senpai staring down at her with an easy smile.

"Kyoya-senpai, what uh… I didn't know you were coming."

He gave a low chuckle. "Oh no? Well, I wouldn't have, but your father was kind enough to invite me during our last phone conversation."

"…when was that?"

"Two days ago, I believe."

"What?" Haruhi sprang up from her seat. "He invited you that long ago? I only found out about this party today!"

As she glared hatefully at the unaffected (and still smiling, furiously enough) Kyoya, several other familiar faces wandered over. The first being a cheekily smirking Hikaru, a half-eaten paper plate of sushi in his hand, Kaoru not far behind.

"Hey, relax Haruhi," Hikaru said.

"Yeah, it is a party after all," Kaoru said in agreement, leaning lightly against his older brother. "Why not try to have some fun?"

"They have really good cake!" Hunny-senpai shouted from over by the refreshments table.

"Chocolate _and_ strawberry," Mori pointed at the cakes to emphasize his point.

Going one at a time, the increasingly miserable Haruhi stared hard at them, feeling ready to melt through the floor if only it would get her away from all this.

"My dad invited you guys too…" she moaned.

"Actually, I invited them," Kyoya spoke up. "But don't worry, I received permission from your father before doing so."

_'And now I feel MUCH better. Thank you, Kyoya-senpai.'_

Not wanting to deal with her cheeky friends' shenanigans for one night, Haruhi made to turn away. Her hasty plan was to excuse herself to the bathroom, lock herself in a stall, and stay there for the rest of the evening. If she closed the lid and kept her legs close to her body, maybe she'd get lucky and no one would spot her. Her dad was busy with his friends, Ozzie was watching a few couples dance, and the guys would probably find their own things to do within a few minutes. Nothing was standing in her way of escaping.

She completed the spin, coming face to face with a pair of violet eyes. He was close, and Haruhi had to step back a bit, taking in Tamaki's full form and the clean pressed white suit he'd worn for the occasion. Haruhi felt a heat rush to her face as she look at him and resisted the urge to bring a hand to her head and check her temperature. The last thing she needed was them thinking she was sick again, whether she really was or not.

"You look beautiful tonight, Haruhi," Tamaki said with a happy grin, taking her hands in his and making her cheeks somehow hotter. "Be sure to let your father know how thrilled and grateful I am for this opportunity to spend time around your commoner brethren. I mean it, I don't think I've had this much fun in my entire life!"

"That's really great, Senpai," Haruhi said, her words coming out constricted as she sincerely hoped he'd let go of her soon. "You could just tell my dad yourself though."

"Oh, I would, but…" Tamaki glanced at Ranka, who stood just across from them. The older man responded with a glare that promised all sorts of evil in it's targets future. Tamaki shuddered with fear. "I- I don't think he wants to talk to me."

Haruhi pinched the bridge of her nose in frustration, and it went unseen as Tamaki's attention was suddenly diverted by a man directly behind her. His face lit up and he gasped.

"There he is!" he exclaimed joyfully. "I was speaking with that fine gentleman before about his career in fruit drink sales and I lost him in the crowd. We'll talk later, alright?"

He ran off without waiting for an answer, floating on the air towards the plainly dressed man sipping on fruit punch. He appeared to be alone, and the look on his face when Tamaki approached was one of pure aggravation. He tried to turn and run, but Tamaki was too fast, and soon had the man trapped by an endless barrage of pointless questions. Haruhi looked on sympathetically and shook her head, right as an arm slunk it's way around her shoulder.

"Well, now that he's gone," Hikaru said cheekily. "How about a dance?"

"I don't really dance," Haruhi answered, leaning away from him.

"Sure you do, Haruhi," Kaoru said from her other side. "Remember the ball we held? You were excellent at the waltz."

Haruhi wiggled away from them, hiding her exasperation behind a smile as she slowly backed up.

"Thank you, but I was thinking I'd rest until after we eat."

"HEY!"

Like a projectile missile, Ozzie launched at her, smacking into her temple. Haruhi gasped and almost lost her balance, regaining it only through the use of a well placed chair. As the twins looked on, Haruhi let out a growl at the tiny man, who tugged at her hair and kicked her neck urgently.

"We have an emergency situation! We have to do something now! Right now! No waiting!"

"Shut up," Haruhi hissed at him, turning away so no one would she her lips move.

"I CAN'T SHUT UP THIS IS IMPORTANT! GET MOVING NOW MISSY!"

He went for her ear this time, grasping and pulling like a man possessed. Haruhi reached up to swat at him, knowing full well that it wouldn't work, but too distressed to care. Ozzie didn't react and kept going, both with the pulling and the screaming.

"This is no time for chit-chat! A serious emergency just came up and it's your job as my substitute to fix it! Come ON already!"

"Knock it OFF!" Haruhi's hand sailed through him again.

Gritting her teeth, she glanced up to find two pairs of very confused and disturbed eyes on her. Haruhi's anger melted, and she stood up a little straighter. Her hands went behind her back, a picture of innocence. Though Ozzie hadn't let up in his insistence of an emergency, Haruhi forced herself to ignore him for now.

"It's just- a bug flying around my head. I had to swat it," she explained lamely. "Don't worry, it's gone. I really have to use the bathroom now, so we'll talk later."

She walked off before either Hikaru or Kaoru could say anything. Instead of heading for the bathroom, Haruhi stomped into the nearest corner and faced in. Her breath hitched uncomfortably as a result of Ozzie's continuing to jump around on top of her. She looked at him as best she could, her neck straining to turn farther than it's capabilities allowed.

"What is it?" she hissed, eyes narrowing dangerously. "What could possibly be so important that you can't wait even a second?"

"There is no such thing as waiting with this job!" Ozzie cried, stamping his foot. "You are on call 24/7 and must act immediately when a potential couple is near."

"Ozzie, I'm not a Cupid, remember? I'm just your substitute," Haruhi said.

He shook his head and waved his hand in her face.

"Whatever. It doesn't matter. Let's just get this situation fixed before it's too late."

"Fine. What is the situation?"

Ozzie ignored the barely repressed fury in Haruhi's voice and pointed at the dance floor, which was steadily filling up as the DJ put on some more upbeat dance music. From so far away, the sound wasn't as blaring, but Haruhi suspected it would pound in her ears and chest if she got any closer. She backed into the wall a little more, as far back as she could go. The inside of her dress dug into her skin, making it sting and itch at the same time. Resisting the urge to scratch at them, Haruhi looked out at the crowd, finding many red and blue Life Threads, but nothing else that might be enough to upset Ozzie in such a way.

"What am I looking at?" she asked.

"Just wait a minute," Ozzie answered. "Watch the man near the center. The over-weight one with the glasses and the purple suit."

Haruhi honed in on the man. He had before been hidden from view by another happy couple, but now stuck out like a sore thumb next to the dark green dress of the much younger woman(?) he was dancing with. He looked familiar somehow, but the harsh lighting made it difficult to pinpoint any distinguishing psychical features. Haruhi took note of his lack of a Life Thread, and mentally went over everything Ozzie had taught her so far.

"His Destined Love isn't around, right?"

"Oh, she is," Ozzie said. "She's just not close enough to him right now, but that'll change in a second. Hang on..."

Haruhi did as she was told, biting back the remaining questions running through her mind. She decided it wasn't worth the effort. The purple suited man guided his partner towards the other side of the room, making it harder for Haruhi to keep track of him. She stood on her tip-toes when someone else came to cover him. It did little thanks to her petite frame and was unnecessary anyway, as the purple suited man appeared again at the opposite corner.

He and the woman settled there. He spun her around, much to her enjoyment. They laughed loud, pulling each other close as the dance continued. Further in the distance was the surly woman from earlier, watching the purple suited man through slit eyes. Haruhi blinked and focused on her, on the contemptuous look she was giving the purple suited man. As he got a little closer, disregarding the woman's presence entirely, a Life Thread began to form and connect them by the fingers.

A _yellow_ Life Thread.

Haruhi's eyes widened. She leaned forward unconsciously, feeling a strange desire to reach out and grab the Life Thread before it could disappear. That way, she would know for sure if it was real.

"This is why I hate the color yellow," Ozzie snorted, drumming his fingers against his knee.

"What does it mean?"

Ozzie returned to a standing position and leaned one hand against Haruhi's neck.

"That guy," he pointed at the purple suited man. "And that woman," he pointed at the surly woman. "Are Destined Loves, and as we both know, Destined Loves are supposed to be together forever."

"Right," Haruhi nodded, an unstated prompt for him to go on.

"Most of the time, it works out great," Ozzie said. "Yeah, they fight and disagree, but that's just human nature. You can't always get along, not even with your Destined Love. Anyway, it's usually smooth sailing from start to finish, but as we've already established, humans are really stupid. So sometimes, something happens that alienates a person from their Destined Love, be it a fight that got out of control, a misunderstanding, an act of spontaneous infidelity… the point is this: yellow Life Threads happen when Destined Loves try to separate."

He shrugged and fell silent. Haruhi observed the purple suited man as he danced away from his Destined Live, causing their Life Thread to vanish from sight. The surly woman made a face at him before gulping down another drink and then throwing her glass aside. Haruhi felt a wave of pity wash over her. She'd never seen anyone as despondent and miserable looking as this woman.

"So I guess I'm supposed to fix this," she guessed.

Ozzie gave a nod. "This is actually pretty advanced stuff. I shouldn't let you within 100 yards of a yellow Life Thread without years of training at Cupid's Academy."

"You have an Academy?"

"What? You think we just wake up one day and know everything about how love works? Dream on, sister! Now enough chatter, get out there and eliminate that disgusting color! MOVE MOVE MOVE!"

His tugging at her hair accentuated those final three words. Her slapped at him, pulling her hair out of his grasp and as far away from him as possible. It was one of those rare moments that she lamented it's lack of length. That would have made keep it away from Ozzie much simpler.

The song ended there, and the purple suited man gave his dance partner a polite bow that she returned with a curtsy. Another man approached at that moment, saying a few words before the girl took his hand and left with him. Now all alone, the purple suited man began glancing in all different directions, seeking out a new partner.

Haruhi didn't bother to look at Ozzie or wait for him to speak. She knew exactly what he was going to suggest and quite honestly couldn't think of an alternative that would satisfy him. Resigned, Haruhi crossed the room, maneuvering her way around the cramped together tables and chairs to make it to the dance floor. Once there, she walked briskly to the purple suited man, only now really seeing his face. Several feet away and she stopped, her mouth falling open as realization hit her.

"That's Mikami-san," she said softly out the corner of her mouth. "I knew I'd seen him somewhere! He owns the club my Dad works at."

"That's your Dad's boss?" Ozzie asked with a chuckle. "I guess that explains the suit."

"I didn't know Mikami-san was having problems with his wife," Haruhi murmured.

Her looked to the woman in the corner, Mikami's wife. She hadn't moved an inch for the entire party and nobody said a word to her. It was like she wasn't even there. Her arms were crossed over her chest defensively, and her eyes never left Mikami-san's back. For his part, Mikami seemed to pointedly avoid looking at her, never turning his head in her direction for longer than a split second at a time.

Haruhi thought back to the few times she'd met Mikami-san before tonight. He was a boisterous man, always happy to meet new people. He'd nearly crushed Haruhi in a hug when she was ten, squealing about how cute she was. She couldn't recall ever meeting his wife, but Mikami-san never spoke negatively about her.

_'Dad would have told me if they were having problems,'_ she thought to herself. _'Whatever's going on must have only happened recently.'_

"Mikami-san!" she called out.

The man turned around and Haruhi waved at him. His face erupted in a wide grin, and he was in front of her, roughly shaking her hand, before Haruhi knew what hit her.

"Oh my goodness!" he cried. "Are you really little Haruhi? Why, I haven't seen you in years, and you've grown like a weed! You're so pretty too, your father really doesn't do you justice!"

"Thank you, sir. It's nice to see you again too," Haruhi answered, wishing he would let go before he inadvertently ripped her arm out of it's socket. "I was just wondering if you wanted to dance?"

"With me?" Mikami pulled away, a look of mock horror on his face. "You want to dance with me? A pretty thing like you could have anyone here, male or female! Why choose an Old Fart like me?"

Haruhi chuckled nervously while Ozzie failed to bite back his own laughter, making her ears ring from the high pitch.

"I just wanted to catch up, that's all," she explained. "Like you said, it's been years."

A new song started up then, the DJ introducing it as a dedication from a man to his partner. Haruhi heard someone squeal, followed by a lanky young man dragging another, shorter, man onto the dance floor and holding him close. The song, much to Haruhi's relief, was about the same quick speed and tempo as the last one. Nice as Mikami-san was, she didn't especially want a slow dance with him.

He offered her a hand which Haruhi took unhesitatingly. Ozzie readjusted himself on her shoulder so as not to fall off when Mikami-san pulled her close. He wore a toothy grin as they started to move in time with the music. Haruhi waited a few seconds before speaking, wanting to first create a casual atmosphere before delving into something potentially deep and personal.

"So how have you been, Haruhi?" Mikami-san asked, once again faster than her. "How's that fancy rich school treating you?"

"Oh, it's fine," Haruhi answered. "The curriculum is pretty challenging, but nothing I can't handle. The other kids are also pretty nice."

"Your father told me you're in a club," Mikami-san said, pausing to spin her. "A host club?"

Haruhi shrugged. "It's a long story."

"Ah, but those boys in your club must be quite entertaining. That's them over by the refreshments, right?"

Haruhi nodded. As her and Mikami-san changed positions, she could see the six of them lounging around by the snack table, sipping their drinks and watching the dance floor. Hikaru was muttering something in Tamaki-senpai's ear while Kaoru giggled. Whatever it was, it made Tamaki's face go red and he jumped away from them, scotching over towards Kyoya. Hunny-senpai laughed in between shoveling cake in his mouth.

"It's nice that they brought the kid with them too," Mikami-san said, motioning at Hunny-senpai. "Who's little brother is he anyway? The other blonde's?"

"Well actually, Hunny-senpai's the oldest member of our group. He's just short for his age," Haruhi explained.

"Is that right?"

Haruhi bit her lip. Though she wasn't sure, she had a bad feeling the song, and their conversation, was going to end soon. Ozzie was staring at her expectantly, his blue eyes penetrating, even though she wasn't looking anywhere near him. He moved his hand in circular motions, urging her to keep going.

"Well, enough about me. How are you, Mikami-san?" she asked.

"Me?" Mikami-san chuckled. "Eh, can't complain. Business has been kind of slow in recent weeks, but with Valentine's Day tomorrow, I'm hoping things will pick up."

"Mm-hm," Haruhi nodded. She then recoiled a bit when Ozzie flicked her painfully on the neck, jerking his head at Mikami-san impatiently. Though Haruhi made time to glare at him, she understood his wordless message: she couldn't beat around the bush any longer.

"Excuse me?"

Haruhi's neck snapped around, first noting that the Host Club was no longer in the distance by the refreshment table. The next thing clear to her was Hikaru's smirking face not a foot away from them, gold eyes looking down on her and glowing with mirth.

"Sorry to interrupt," he said. "But may I cut in?"

Like her failure of a first attempt at matchmaking, the sound Ozzie made in response to this was inhuman and highly unpleasant. That Mikami-san jovially turned Haruhi over to him before she could get a single word in made it worse. The next thing she knew, Hikaru was twirling her around the room, more quick and energetic than the fifty-something Mikami-san could've ever hoped to be.

"What are you doing?" Haruhi hissed at him.

"You said you didn't want to dance," Hikaru answered teasingly. "And then you go and dance with that old guy? That's not very fair."

"That _old guy,_" Haruhi said in harsh tones. "Is my dad's boss. I was trying to catch up with him because we don't see each other much."

"You can do that," Hikaru said, as if it was his job to give her permission to talk to someone. "When the song ends."

Haruhi frowned in her lack of appreciation. She imagined if Ozzie was capable of anything other than pulling at his hair and screeching gibberish, he would be similarly not amused by Hikaru's insistence.

When the song finally did end, Haruhi excused herself as politely as she could before going off to find Mikami-san. Hikaru was left to deal with the advances of a much taller woman who may or may not have actually been biologically female. Mikami-san was right where Haruhi left him, chatting with another man who bid him farewell and walked off as Haruhi approached. She tapped Mikami-san on the shoulder and gave a friendly smile when he turned around. Wordlessly, she took his hand as another song started up. Unfortunately, it was a slow one, but Haruhi didn't have time to worry about that.

"So I wanted to ask you before," Haruhi said quickly before Mikami-san could speak. "How is your wife doing?"

The grin Mikami-san had been wearing all night long faded in an instant. Haruhi's smooth steps slowed, both from his own feet coming close to a stop and a sudden fear that she'd gone too far too fast. Haruhi glanced away, seeking out the wife of Mikami-san and finding her, immobile as ever, in her spot by the snacks. The woman wasn't even looking at them anymore. Rather, the ceiling fans seemed have all her attention.

"Kiyoko…" Mikami-san murmured, so softly, Haruhi could barely hear it over the music. Haruhi watched his face fall, eyes dulling to a murky brown that really didn't work for him. They slid to the floor, almost like Mikami-san was ashamed of something and didn't want to look directly at anyone. Was he afraid he would give something away if did? What would he have to hide in the first place?

"Mikami-san?" Haruhi said gently.

He took a long, shaking breath and looked up again. His smile returned, but this time, Haruhi wasn't buying it.

"Sorry, got a little lost in my head there…" he laughed a hollow laugh. "No, we're fine. We're just fine. A few problems here and there, but that's normal! Everything's alright."

He continued on this train of thought, growing steadily quieter, until the words were unintelligible through unmoving lips. Naturally, none of this convinced Haruhi of anything. That they moved dangerously close to Mikami-san's wife a moment later, revealing the yellow Life Thread once again didn't help matters, nor did it do anything for the already frantic Ozzie.

"He's lying!" the Cupid shouted in her ear. "You know he's lying, right? Tell me you know!"

_'I can't tell you anything right now,'_ Haruhi thought angrily. _'Unless you want me to look like a crazy person, I hope one of your powers is mind reading!'_

"Well, I don't mean to pry," she went on to Mikami-san. "But I noticed that she's been by herself for most of the night. I almost thought she was sick or something."

"Hey there, Haruhi!" Kaoru said, sliding up from nowhere with a grin that put his brother's to shame. "I didn't know you were on the dance floor now. Mind if I take over?"

"Not at all!" Mikami-san said, seeming all to happy to let Haruhi go and get far, far away from her. "You sure are popular tonight, Haruhi!"

"Yeah, popular," Haruhi groaned, not bothering to stop Kaoru as he led her away and ignoring Ozzie's frustrated teeth grinding. His face was turning a rich shade of red, and Haruhi could've sworn it was starting to swell up in preparation for an implosion.

She mostly kept quiet while dancing with Kaoru, only giving him one or two word answers the few times he said anything. He didn't seem to mind, and left on his own when the song ended. Now alone, Haruhi first looked around for the rest of her overenthusiastic friends. They were nowhere to be found whichever way Haruhi looked, and for now, she would choose to find that encouraging.

Mikami-san was still in sight, thankfully. Haruh passed various couples, pushing them out of her way as gently and politely as she could, but not stopping for too long as Ozzie wouldn't stand for it. He had gone silent for now, but who knows how long that would last, especially if Haruhi messed up and lost track of their target.

When she was all but right beside Mikami-san, Haruhi took in a breath and prepared to speak to him, ask him about his wife and why they were trying to part ways.

A loud and happy laugh interrupted her, followed by a warm hand grasping hers and pulling her away with a shout.

"Haru-chan!" Hunny-senpai cried as he dragged her along. "Dance with me!"

"I _hate_ your friends," Ozzie growled.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Want to hear a funny story?**

**This is actually only the first part of chapter 5. I finished re-editing it today, and the finished product somehow came out to almost 30 pages and 11,000 words. I don't know how that happened, I didn't think I'd written that many scenes.**

**Well, I didn't think the chapters of Second Life could get as long as they do either, so it shows how much I know.**

**I wound up having to split chapter five into two chapters. That's why this one ends kind of abruptly. Sorry about that by the way.**

**The second part will be chapter six, so this story is going to have one more chapter than it would have otherwise. It also means this is officially the halfway mark between the beginning and end of this story.**

**Chapter six will be posted soon.**


	6. Assistance of Cupid

"Haru-chan!" Hunny-senpai cried as he dragged her along. "Dance with me!"

"I _hate_ your friends," Ozzie growled.

Five minutes later, Hunny-senpai was off to get his third helping of cake and chatter away with Mori-senpai. Haruhi could no longer find Mikami-san on the dance floor, much to Ozzie's clear aggravation. She didn't bother seeking out the wife again, knowing that she would still be in the same spot and as wrapped up in herself as ever.

_'If I can't find Mikami-san, I might have to go and talk to her anyway,'_ Haruhi noted.

Right as she was thinking this, the crowd parted a bit on one side. The space was closed soon after, but Haruhi had just enough time to spot Mikami-san at a nearby table, solemnly picking at a bowl of soup.

Haruhi was on the move before Ozzie had a chance to order her, not that this stopped him.

"Go! Go! Go go go! Move, damn you, move!"

"I _am_ moving," Haruhi snapped.

Ozzie scoffed and looked away. "No need to be rude."

Haruhi stood before Mikami-san, unsure if she should sit done or not. She eyed his free hand, the his fingers flexing impulsively again and again; like he was trying to make a fist, but didn't have the energy.

"Mikami-san?" Haruhi said, kneeling down to his level. "Are you okay?"

He eyed her briefly, but didn't turn his head. His soft gaze was back on the bowl of dark brown soup, and if it weren't for the way he sighed and rubbed his neck, Haruhi would have believed he was ignoring her.

"Haruhi," he said. "Let me give you some advice."

He turned around, and suddenly looked ten years older than a moment ago.

"If you ever get married, you will probably have a lot of disagreements with your spouse. That's just a fact of life. Just… just don't ever go too far with what you say. They might decide that… that you two are really no good for each other."

"What do you mean?"

Mikami-san shook his head. "Nothing. I'd just like some time to myself if you don't mind. I have a lot to think about."

"Don't listen to him!" Ozzie said, all but shoving his face into her ear this time. "If you do, he's just going to mope around doing nothing and his wife will definitely leave him!"

Haruhi jerked her shoulder to one side to jostle the loud cupid, creating the desired effect of silencing him.

"Well, Mikami-san, I hope I'm not stepping out of line by saying this, but if you and your wife are having problems, it might help if you spoke to her. She's been off on her own all night."

Mikami-san shook his head, an empty smile stretching across his features.

"If only it were that simple…" he said softly. Then he gave another sigh and got to his feet.

At his full height, Mikami-san was only about a few inches taller than Haruhi, which wasn't saying much. Still, he patted her on the head, mussing up her hair in the process. Haruhi, though not receptive of the gesture, didn't try and push him off. With the way he was acting, any sort of kindness on her part would be helpful.

"I'm sorry, I should be going. It is my party after all. Lots more people I need to greet."

"But, Mikami-san-"

He was walking away before Haruhi could say any more. What she had gotten out didn't faze he anyway. He seemed to be making a real effort to pay no mind to her anymore. Within seconds, he had disappeared amid bodies clothed in various colors that more often than not clashed with their Life Threads. Haruhi stared at the spot where her father's boss had once stood, shoulders slumped in defeat. Despite this, Ozzie had no problem pacing up and down from her neck to her arm, muttering and steaming with anger.

"You let him go. You actually let him go," he repeated that phrase, among others, over and over again, to the point that Haruhi was no longer phased by his indirect criticisms. "Well, that's just fantastic. I can't wait until they separate for good and their Life Threads break apart. Won't that just be _lovely?_"

Haruhi plopped down on the nearest chair and leaned over. She no longer had the energy to stand, and wanted nothing more than to be at home, in her room, reading a good book in peace and quiet.

Alone.

"So, Haruhi! How does it feel knowing you contributed to the breakup of a destined couple, huh? Any thoughts?"

"Hey!" Haruhi whipped her head around, narrowed eyes glaring hard into Ozzie's. The cupid wouldn't let out, leaving them stuck in an endless staring contest that neither could win. "I'm doing the best I can here! In case you've forgotten, this is not my job, it's your job. These last few days, I've just been running blind! I've been lucky! I don't know the first thing about romantic love and quite frankly, I don't care about it! What is so bad about Mikami-san and his wife splitting up anyway? Surely they can find happiness on their own without!"

Throughout Haruhi's rant, Ozzie went through a series of varying emotions. He began with the anger brought on by Haruhi's current failure, which soon changed to bewilderment, then horror, and finally something Haruhi couldn't determine. His face was completely blank, covered partially by a shock of red hair. He didn't speak a word when Haruhi was finished, and merely looked deep into her eyes before quietly turning away. He slid down, sitting on Haruhi's shoulder in a relaxed position and kicking his legs out in the air.

A long silence followed, one that Ozzie spent staring off into the crowd with seemingly no goal in mind. Haruhi watched him, waiting for his next move. It came when he suddenly pointed in a random direction.

"Take a look at that," he said.

Haruhi's eyes flicked up, and she caught sight of her father. Ranka was walking across the now nearly empty dance floor with a pair of his co-workers. He appeared to be telling some kind of joke, one that received a positive reaction from his friends, who were holding their sides as they laughed. Ranka let out a chortle of his own and ran fingers through his curled hair. The black Life Thread slid across his face, past eyes that couldn't see it. Haruhi felt her stomach turn, just like all the other times that thing showed itself.

"You've probably been wondering about that," Ozzie said. "About your Dad's Life Thread, that is."

Haruhi nodded. "Why is it black? And frayed at the end?"

Ozzie shook his head, his entire demeanor taking on a strange sadness that wasn't reassuring to Haruhi in the least.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you about those sooner," he said. "To be honest, black Life Threads always depress me. It gets to a point that I can't even wear anything black sometimes… see, as I've already told you, everyone has a Destined Love, a soulmate, whatever you want to call it. Everyone has one, but not everyone meets theirs. There are a number of reasons why this is: lifestyle choices, long distances, just plain never encountering one another… black Life Threads are different. They are a surefire sign that you aren't going to be meeting your Destined Love, because… well, because they didn't live long enough for that."

Haruhi's fist clenched into a ball, the heavy implications sinking in fast. she'd been suspecting something like that from the start, but the confirmation of her fears still made her heart clench. The image of a woman, smiling and beautiful, worked it's way into her mind's eye, along with something in her throat that made breathing difficult.

"That's not always the case, though. Some people get lucky like your dad over there," Ozzie went on. "He at least got to be with his Destined Love for a while before she died. Some people don't even have that much. You know that saying, it's better to have loved and lost-"

"Than to have never loved at all," Haruhi finished, going back to the day she'd been told her mother wasn't going home anymore. How broken and lost her father had looked, and how he struggled to keep his composure around the tiny child she had been. She'd never really thought much on it, never wanted to before. She still didn't.

"That's probably the biggest downside of the job, seeing those."

"I can imagine."

Ozzie disappeared from her side vision, appearing right away in front of her. He sat down beside the hand she'd placed flat on the table and rubbed it softly so she could feel it.

"You know something?" he asked. "I'll bet you anything that your parents were a perfect couple."

Haruhi looked at him, surprised at his words, but warmed nonetheless. She smiled softly, thinking how nice it was to see Ozzie be a little less abrasive.

"They were," she answered, then exhaled deeply and moved to face the dance floor, removing her hand from Ozzie's reach in the process. "But what about Mikami-san and his wife? What can we do for them?"

Ozzie's frown morphed into a knowing grin.

"Now you're starting to think like a cupid."

Haruhi didn't know how to answer that. Appreciated as the compliment was, it didn't help her predicament. She sensed that Ozzie would have no real suggestions for her anyway. Someone who held his job in such high regard and had been relentless in his badgering of her to perform would have said something already, right?

Haruhi's head dropped into her hands and she rubbed at her temples, creating more pain than was relieved. Numerous partygoers passed, and she paid them no mind, preferring instead to wallow in the dawning hopelessness of it all. She therefore didn't realize that anyone was coming up behind her, and not just so they could walk by.

"Come on, Haruhi," Ozzie said, lifting two of her fingers and pulling gently. "You have to figure something out. His wife will split up with him permanently if you don't!"

"I know that," she answered with frustration. "But I can't think of anything! I really don't know either Mikami-san or his wife that well. I don't want them to get a divorce, but how am I supposed to convince them to stay together?"

"Haruhi?"

The sound of her name made Haruhi jump and snap her head to the side. In a clear area, surrounded by the masses of people, stood Tamaki, his violet eyes filled with curiosity. Haruhi bit her lip, wondering how much of that he'd actually heard. If he'd seen her talking to the invisible Ozzie, that couldn't possibly end well. The conclusions someone like Tamaki could jump to weren't something she wanted to think about.

"Haruhi," he said again, more firmly this time. "Who is Mikami-san? A friend of yours?"

Haruhi sighed softly, feeling a small amount of relief that her senpai hadn't asked about Ozzie.

"He's my father's boss," she answered quickly. "He's just-"

"He's having problems with his wife," Tamaki interrupted, his hands on his hips. Haruhi bit back a groan, knowing from experience that he was about to shift into 'leader' mode. "Well, Haruhi, I'm glad you told me!"

"I didn't, you snuck up on me," Haruhi muttered.

But Tamaki wasn't listening anymore, the damage had been done. He stood up a little straighter, slowly raising one hand and giving a dramatic snap of his fingers. Near instantaneously, the entirety of the Ouran Host Club was before them, so fast it made Haruhi's head spin. They stood in a neat, single file line before Tamaki and Haruhi, waiting on the former's orders. Meanwhile, Ozzie was watching intently from the edge of the table, like a small child going to the movies for the first time. Haruhi hadn't the foggiest of what he was thinking, but his expression alone was enough to annoy her.

"Alright, men," Tamaki said. "Ranka-san's employer is having marital problems. As Hosts, we have a duty to the lovely princesses of the world, both young and old. So, we'll be working now to mend the relationship between Mikami-san and his wife. Haruhi, where is Mikami-san's wife?"

"Huh?" Haruhi jerked back instinctually when Tamaki's wandering eye landed on her. "Senpai, you really don't…"

She trailed off, but her voice began weakening on the second word when she saw the look on his face. That serious, no nonsense look he had worn during their conversation the other day, and what she imagined he looked like during their phone conversation the night before. That same expression that somehow coincided with whatever ailment she had that made her heart beat faster and her face feel hot.

It was a look she could never refuse.

"She's over there, that's her," Haruhi gestured at Mrs. Mikami's spot by the wall.

Tamaki snapped his fingers again. "Hikaru, Kaoru, go and get her."

"Roger," the twins said, speaking and saluting in perfect unison before sprinting off into the crowd.

"Hunny-senpai and Mori-senpai, go outside to the parking lot and get my driver to let you in the car. There's a thick black folder in one of the seat pockets. Get it and bring it to me. Kyoya, distract the DJ."

Everyone went off to do their jobs, leaving only Haruhi behind to try and make sense of Tamaki's plan. Why on earth would he need to _sabotage the DJ?_

Before she could think more on it, Tamaki's face took up her vision as he kneeled to her level.

"Haruhi, I need you to go and get Mikami-san. Bring him to the center of the dance floor in ten minutes, okay?"

"Tamaki, what are you trying to do?"

"Just trust me, Haruhi," he answered, smiling now. "I know exactly what I'm doing. We're going to remind your father's boss and his wife of what a beautiful thing their love is."

He walked away, humming a little song under his breath that Haruhi couldn't make out more than a few notes of before he was out of earshot, headed in the same direction Kyoya had disappeared.

Ozzie gave a low whistle.

"Man, why didn't I land on his balcony instead?"

"Ozzie…" Haruhi said in a warning tone.

"Well, what are we waiting for?" Ozzie ran up her arm onto her shoulder, and continued from there, climbing all the way to the top of Haruhi's head. "You heard the man, LET'S GO!"

He pointed so far out, Haruhi could see his hand just above her. Though still unhappy with the tiny Cupid, she swallowed it back and stood, pushing through the crowd in yet another attempt to locate Mikami-san.

It proved a far easier task than she thought. Mikami-san was over by the refreshment table, nursing a beer and looking rather despondent, a stark contrast to the jovial man she'd danced with barely twenty minutes ago.

Haruhi was silent as she closed in, and it paid off when Mikami-san glanced up aimlessly and spotted her. He lowered his drink and rubbed his eyes.

"Hello again, Haruhi," he said softly. "I'm sorry to be such a terrible host, but… I'm afraid I'm not in the right sort of mood for it like I thought I'd be."

Haruhi shook her head. "It's not your fault, and I think I know why you're upset."

He furrowed his brow, and Haruhi responded by taking his hand and stepping closer to the dance floor. Mikami-san got the message clearly and opened his mouth, ready to refuse as politely as he could. This time, Haruhi beat him to the punch.

"I want to show you something," she said. "It's a surprise.

She added that last part quickly, as she didn't want to try and answer any of Mikami-san's questions until she herself knew what Tamaki was planning. She just hoped it wouldn't be anything too convoluted like most of the other 'brilliant' plans she'd seen the host club come up with.

Haruhi guided Mikami-san to the center as per Tamaki's command. Mikami-san grumbled in a low voice that he really wanted to be alone to think, but did nothing more to dissuade her from dragging him right into the middle of the room, a place where any idea of privacy was laughable.

"Haruhi, what is this?" Mikami-san finally asked when they stopped in an empty spot. "What are you doing?"

Haruhi thought fast.

"Just wait one second, Mikami-san."

He continued giving her a nonplussed look that did nothing for Haruhi's nervousness, until something made him glance over her shoulder, and his whole face went pale. Curious, Haruhi turned around, and wasn't at all surprised to see Kaoru heading over, Hikaru close behind and dragging Mikami-san's protesting wife with him. Knowing that he might try to run, Haruhi faced him again.

"Mikami-san, I know you and your wife are having problems," she said. "I don't know what they are exactly and I'll respect your privacy, but whatever it is, surely it's not enough for you to break up. You two love each other, don't you?"

"How did you know…" he trailed off and was silent for a moment before jerking his head to one side. "It's a complicated issue. We've been together for so many years and it's always been wonderful, but then we had this big fight and things got out of control and… and we both said things we shouldn't have. I don't want her to go, I love her more than anything. I'm just afraid after all that was said… she doesn't love me anymore."

Haruhi frowned, not at all happy with this dejected Mikami-san. He was a lot like Tamaki in that he was at his best when happy and full of life. Seeing him so sad just made everything around him dark and gloomy as well.

"Mikami-san," she said. "I don't know much about love, but if you and your wife are as happy as you say you've been, I don't think one stupid fight is going to just make it all disappear."

By now, the twins were standing right behind her, and Mikami-san's wife had stopped yelling. Haruhi imagined if she were to look, she'd see an equal amount of anxiety in the face and posture of Mikami-san's wife. She wound up turning in the end, though for a different reason.

The fast dance music, which had been playing non-stop almost all night, suddenly screeched to a stop. The only remaining sounds were the wave of murmurs that accompanied this as all eyes went to the stage. Haruhi didn't know what to think when she saw Tamaki, tall and proud, standing before a microphone and looking out with a wide smile. To his far left, in a more shadowed area, Haruhi could just make out Kyoya handing something that looked suspiciously like a check to the DJ.

"Good evening, everyone!" Tamaki said, his voice magnified loud enough to make Haruhi's ears ring. "My name is Tamaki Suoh, and I am so happy to be here with you lovely people tonight!"

One or two people clapped, but everyone else just went on staring awkwardly. Tamaki, as usual, was far too lost in his own world of beauty and glamour to care. If he did, he probably figured that he would win them all over in the end anyway.

"I'd just like to give my thanks to our wonderful hosts, Mikami-san and his beautiful wife. How about it?"

More people applauded now, almost half the room, and several even whooped. Mikami-san stood rigid as the spotlight fell on him. Mori-senpai took the opportunity to guide the man's wife into the circle with him. They eyeballed each other, red in the face, but choosing to wave half-heartedly at the crowd rather than speak to each other.

"Aren't they just the sweetest couple you've ever seen?" Tamaki went on with flourish. "I certainly think so, and that's why I'd like to dedicate a little number to them."

As he spoke, the curtains slowly opened, and the light panned back to him, revealing a grand piano, shiny and new. Haruhi sweatdropped.

"Does every place we go have one of those?"

Tamaki sat down and opened the lid, turning his sheet music to a random page. He began playing a slow song Haruhi didn't recognize. She knew, though, that it was probably a love song, as couples returned to dancing, much slower than before. Meanwhile, Mikami-san and his wife didn't seem to know what to make of this. They hadn't moved away from each other, but neither did they speak. Haruhi felt a tugging at her hair, a reminder that Ozzie was still around and still in a desperate state.

"Why don't we leave you two alone?" she said, grabbing at Hikaru and Kaoru by the arms. "I think you have a lot to talk about."

The three of them started off, Haruhi having a hard time stopping herself from looking back. She waited to get back to an empty table, losing Hikaru and Kaoru easily in the crowd before they could say anything or try to coax her into another dance. Reaching a barren table, Haruhi sat and watch Mikami-san say a few words to his wife, who didn't look like she wanted to hear it. But after a few seconds, her frown softened and she met his eyes again. Mikami-san offered her a hand, and she took it an a weak grip. Pretty soon, they were moving along with the music, saying nothing, but looking only at each other.

Their Life Thread, despite retaining it's yellow color, looked less abrasive and was started to change, very slowly becoming an orangey color. Ozzie's sigh of relief was suitable reassurance for Haruhi that this was a good thing.

"Now _that's_ how you do it," he said. "Haruhi, you should take notes."

She gave him a deadpan look.

"Sorry, I don't play piano."

Ozzie gave no reply, and instead watched Mikami-san spin his wife around, making her smile for the very first time all night. They quickly got lost in the sea of dancers, all red Life Threads mixed with minimal blue. It was a nice sight, Haruhi had to admit. Knowing that her father's friends and co-workers were so happy in their relationships was actually very sweet. She watched several more pairs of middle-aged men walk by hand in hand, with on male and female couple mixed in.

That was when Haruhi noticed something strange.

This particular couple held each other close and gazed lovingly at each other. They were seemingly no different than any couple in the vicinity, except the Life Thread that connected them wasn't red.

It wasn't blue either.

Without looking away, Haruhi waved to get Ozzie's attention.

"What is that?" she pointed at the couple. "Why is their Life Thread purple?"

"There's a purple one here?"

Ozzie leapt to his feet to get a better look, squealing and clapping his hands as he jumped up and down happily.

"Oh, that's wonderful! I love purple Life Threads! That's why purple is my favorite color!"

"Uh-huh," Haruhi said after a beat. "So what do they mean?"

The cupid slowed his celebratory dancing to a stop, falling limp as he slid down into a sitting position, this time at the side. He sucked on his teeth, as if unsure whether to go on or not. Haruhi couldn't say what was making him hesitate, just that she hoped he'd get over it soon and give her a straight answer.

"You remember when I told you about black Life Threads?" he asked.

Haruhi felt a slight stabbing in her gut, but nodded all the same.

"Well, you see, people like that, with black Life Threads, they tend to be drawn to one another. Tell me if you've heard this: a man with a dead wife meets and falls in love with a woman who's husband has also died. It sounds like the plot of a cheesy romance film, but it's not far off the truth."

Ozzie stood up and stretched out his back.

"We don't really know why it happens, though we do have our theories. I think it's because they can understand each other's pain. Even if someone with a black Life Thread never got to meet their Destined Love, there's always a lingering feeling in their gut that something isn't right. They'll just dismiss it usually, but it doesn't go away. If anything, it'll just get worse. So when two people with black Life Threads come together and form a bond of some sort, there's a good chance they'll fall in love. That's what creates purple Life Threads. It's my favorite because it's an all new love they made for themselves by helping each other through the pain."

Haruhi kept her eyes on the couple all throughout Ozzie's speech, and with every word, she felt the warmth within her grow along with her smile. The happiness in their eyes took on a whole new meaning now, a deeper meaning. She really, really liked watching them.

"That's… pretty amazing," she said.

Ozzie nodded in agreement.

"It's even better when they have kids. Now this is probably just a coincidence, but in my experience, children born from purple Life Threads are always really in tune with other people's emotions. Sort of the way a Cupid has to be. I remember this one time like fifteen-twenty years ago, a guy with a black Life Thread went to Europe while I was there on business, and he got friendly with this woman who also had one and wound up having a kid with her. Now those there was some true love if I've ever seen it. I always wonder what happened to them."

"Oh yeah?" Haruhi answered, not really listening.

At least not until her eyes found Tamaki again, and the serenity of his expression as his song grew steadily louder and more passionate. Then the pieces of Ozzie's story started coming together and dropped into her stomach like a brick.

"Ozzie?" she asked shakily. "What was the businessman's name?"

"His name?" Ozzie repeated with an uncaring shrug. "I don't know. I deal with so many couples, I can barely remember the people we talked to yesterday."

Haruhi would have questioned him further, but a fast approaching, and very happy looking, Mikami-san cut her off. His wife wasn't with him, if only because she was chatting with some other ladies over at another table a short way's away. Haruhi noted that she looked quite pretty when she was grinning.

"Haruhi, I have to say, you and your friends are incredible," Mikami-san said, patting her on the head again. "I can't thank you enough. I really think we're going to be able to work it out now. That dance and the talk we had is just what we needed."

Haruhi smiled while Ozzie pumped a fist in the air. "I'm glad to hear it, Mikami-san. I hope everything goes well for you."

"Oh, it will. Trust me on th-" he stopped, but unlike the first time, it was immediately followed by his eyes bugging out in shock and fear. He stumbled back a bit, though stayed within arm's length, and pointed a white finger at the now very confused Haruhi. "W-what is that? There's a little man on your shoulder!"

Now it was Haruhi's turn to lose all color. A wide-eyed glance at Ozzie revealed him to be reacting similarly. They were frozen hardly a second longer before Ozzie ran up the length of Haruhi's arm.

"Oh CRAP this is bad. Haruhi, put your hand on his head."

"What, why?"

"JUST DO IT!"

His shout jolted her, and Haruhi's mind kicked into autopilot, following his orders with no further argument. As soon as her hand touched Mikami-san's forehead, she felt a strange and warm tingling run from the tips of her fingers to the top of her shoulder. Mikami-san's terrified expression melted away, replaced by a slack jaw and dead eyes. Ozzie raised a finger to those eyes and very slowly ran it back and forth, once, twice, three times before sighing in relief and sliding back down.

"Okay, problem solved," he said. "Sorry for that, I needed to use your body as a channel for my memory spell. I guess in my excitement, I forgot to keep the invisibility going. He won't remember seeing me now."

Haruhi raised an eyebrow as she moved away from Mikami-san, who broke out of his trance, glanced around in confusion, and finally shrugged and started off for his wife.

"You're telling me you can erase memories now?"

Ozzie gave her a look. "Well yeah. It's against the rules for us to be seen by humans. If it ever happens, we're supposed to immediately erase it from their memories. It's a standard safety precaution."

"Standard, right," Haruhi muttered, not sure how to wrap her head around this power Ozzie had to mess with people minds.

To make herself fell better, Haruhi focused on Tamaki. He had long since finished the first song, which was met by thunderous applause and calls for an encore. Always one to be the center of attention, Tamaki was more than willing to indulge them.

"Thank you, thank you! Yes, I will do another one."

Kyoya could be seen eyeing him with deep annoyance as he handed over another wad of cash to the smirking DJ.

The song Tamaki played now was slow like the last one, but which a much more solemn quality to it, almost like it was a song about sadness rather than love. Haruhi wondered what made Tamaki play something like that; he didn't look like he was enjoying himself any less than before. Just what was going on in that head of his and why did not knowing make her feel so down? He should have had nothing to be sad about right now. This was far more his victory than it was Haruhi's, and he hadn't even done it for any more of a reason than just wanting to. Haruhi gave a snort, Tamaki really would have been better at this job than her. He just cared so much about everyone.

Ozzie nudged at her neck.

"Hey, what's with you?"

Haruhi ran her tongue across dry lips as her eyes briefly flicked down.

"Thinking about your friend up there?"

"Yeah, sort of…" she answered, tracing the line of his pink Life Thread with her eyes as it rested on the keyboard. "I'm just thinking… whoever his Destined Love is, she's pretty lucky."

Ozzie snorted and spoke in a voice too low for Haruhi to hear.

"You don't know the half of it."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: And that's chapter 6/part 2 of chapter 5. Whatever you want to call it.**

**I decided to post it a little early since it's Easter and all that. Mine has been pretty boring, but I hope you all had a nice day regardless of whether or not you celebrate.**

**Next chapter, we're finally getting into Valentine's Day. It should be very exciting. **

**See you then!**

**PS: Everyone remember to wish Tamaki and very happy birthday! :D**


	7. Magic of Cupid

On the morning of Valentine's Day, Haruhi stood tall in front of the gates, taking in the sight of her massive school building. It seemed a brighter shade of pink than usual, possibly because of the joyful atmosphere as young girls approached their boyfriends and crushes with tokens of their appreciation. Perhaps it was the smiles they were most often met with as the boys thanked them for having thought of them so lovingly.

Perhaps Haruhi was overtired from Ozzie keeping her awake and matchmaking well into the early hours of the morning and just seeing things.

She was having a hard time keeping herself steady because of the little blobs of light in her eyes, courtesy of the sun. Her eyelids drooped constantly and threateningly. And of course, Haruhi received no sympathy at all from the little Cupid, who had now taken to resting in her pocket instead of on her shoulder.

"This is so much more comfortable," he said while snuggling into the confines of her jacket's soft cloth. He sighed contently while Haruhi simultaneously attempted to keep her eyes open and set him on fire with her mind by glaring at him. "A perfect way to start the day after a busy and successful night on the job. Know what I mean, Haruhi?"

He looked up at her, his smile fading in addition to his flinching back when he noticed the anger on her face. Recovering from the shock quickly, Ozzie leaned back with his hands beneath his head and chuckled.

"You think you're tired now, last night was cake compared to what I'm used to… speaking of cake, did you manage to get it all out of your hair this morning?"

Ozzie was referring to an incident at the corner bakery, when he'd dragged her their from the park shouting about a woman he'd seen passing that needed their attention. Apparently, her Life Thread was reacting to man inside decorating a cake. Seems simple enough, and at first, Haruhi believed it would be a relatively easy job. She'd already gotten the hang of starting up conversation… mostly.

Then the woman walked into the bakery (Haruhi on her tail), took one look at the baker and started cursing. It appeared the two had some kind of ongoing rivalry thing that often devolved into senseless shouting matches. While Haruhi would never understand what about animosity spelled out true love, she had learned to trust Ozzie on these things and not ask too many questions. It wasn't like they got her anywhere anyway.

Things started to go sour when Haruhi attempted to get between the two, pleading for them to calm down and talk it, and generally trying to be a mediator. The man wasn't having any of it and yelled at her to move away, which lead to the woman berating him for harassing a customer. He, of course, denied this, and the battle started fresh with Haruhi stuck at square one. When she tried again, the woman's arm suddenly flung out as she was getting close, and Haruhi was sent sprawling into the massive cake display. It collapsed on top of her, creams and chocolates and strawberries and flavored icings. Haruhi came out of it drenched in the sugary treats, and she could only imagine the kind of coma seeing so many destroyed cake would have put Hunny-senpai in where he there to bear witness. Both the man and woman had apologized profusely, the man not even bothering to ask her to pay for the cakes. They went to the back to get her some towels, and somehow came back taking amicably and apologizing to each other for the pointless fighting. After all, if innocent bystanders were getting hurt because of it, clearly they needed to stop and try to work things out.

By the time Haruhi left, Ozzie was going on and on between pearls of laughter about how they were now at the starting point of their relationship and no more needed to be done. Then another woman with a pink Life Thread walked by and Ozzie immediately changed his tune from congratulating to drill sergeant.

This was how last night went as a whole. Haruhi was so tired the next morning, she couldn't even remember how Ozzie had gotten her awake and out of bed to do all this stuff, and how her father never woke up or knew she was gone. The latter question, however, did have some possible explanations, Haruhi thought as she glared even harder at Ozzie.

"Time to buck up, now," he said, waving his hand at the school building and all the people walking towards it. "Today is the big day: Valentine's Day. You've got a lot of couple to put together and you have to be on high alert. No sleeping on the job!"

"You haven't let me sleep at all," Haruhi grumbled as she pushed herself off the pillar she'd been leaning on. "I may not have a choice."

"It's going to be a busy day," Ozzie was practically shaking with excitement at the prospect.

Somehow, Haruhi couldn't find it in her to share his enthusiasm. She glanced at the clock tower in the distance, it showed fifteen minutes before the five minute bell was due to ring.

_'Good,'_ she thought to herself, her inner voice drowning out Ozzie's rambling. _'I can make it just as long as no one else with a pink Life Thread walks by.'_

Of course, at this point, Haruhi should have been used to things not going exactly the way she wanted them to. This was no exception, as a pink Life Thread appeared before her eyes when the crowd by the front entrance part to let a young woman through. Haruhi bit back a groan and watched the girl come closer, expecting to hear Ozzie's voice any second.

It struck Haruhi, as the girl's features become more and more distinguishable, that there was something very familiar about her, though she couldn't place what it was until she was almost ten feet away. The memory hit Haruhi like a brick then.

"It's that girl," she whispered, stepping to the side so the pillar would better hide her. "The one from my first day."

Ozzie blinked. "You mean the one you messed up? Oh yeah, I think that is her."

Haruhi leaned over slightly, just enough that she could the girl stopped in front of the gate and staring off into space. She didn't appear to be waiting for anyone, just trying to kill time before first period started. Looking at her, Haruhi felt her exhaustion fade, replaced by a determination usually reserved for especially difficult homework assignments.

"You okay?" she heard Ozzie ask.

Haruhi shook her head. "Tell me, Ozzie. Have you ever failed to bring two Destined Loves together?"

Ozzie sputtered in response, deeply offended by such a statement.

"Are you kidding? My success rate is second to none!"

Haruhi's only answer was silence, exactly what she needed to needle away at the Cupid's defenses and make him growl with annoyance.

"Fine, there was one couple," he sullenly admitted. "And no matter how hard I tried to bring them together, they just would not admit their true feelings. I swear, I have never seen any two people that willfully stupid and ignorant and it was so frustrating that I just had to-"

He stopped short as he got a hold of himself and coughed with embarrassment, muttering an apology that Haruhi didn't care to hear.

"It must be…" she agreed, but her words where meant more for herself, motivating her to come out of hiding and approach the girl.

When she got around to doing just that, Ozzie hadn't a thing to say. Haruhi refused to look down at him, not wanting to let the girl out of her sight for even a moment, lest she get away again. Her hair blew lightly in the breeze, and she brushed it away without a care, oblivious to Haruhi and everything else as she remained lost in her own world. Haruhi cleared her throat, bringing the girl back to reality and gaining her full attention. She blinked and studied Haruhi, as if unsure what to make of her.

"Can I help you?" she asked.

Haruhi's eyes flicked to the girl's Life Thread, stationary now that the wind had died down.

"Good morning…" Haruhi paused to bite down on her lip and try to think of what should be said next.

"Her name is Yuriko!" Ozzie hissed, pulling on her jacket.

"Yuriko," Haruhi repeated. "I'm sorry to bother you, I just wanted to wish you a Happy Valentine's Day."

Yuriko raised an eyebrow and glanced around, as if searching for some way to slip out of Haruhi's gaze and run away. Haruhi couldn't say she blamed her as this wasn't getting off to the best start.

"Thanks," Yuriko said. "You too, I guess… would be better if I had someone to spend it with…"

She had muttered the last part, likely with the intent of keeping Haruhi from hearing it. She was out of luck, her words reached Haruhi's ears clear as day, and she knew an opportunity when she saw it.

"That's actually what I wanted to talk about," Haruhi said. "I know this boy who really likes you. I think you two would be good together."

"Oh yeah?" Yuriko said, attempting to sound uninterested, but Haruhi could detect traces of hope in her tone, and it gave her confidence.

"He was telling me," she lied. "He says that he thinks you're very pretty and smart, and that he really wishes he had the courage to tell you so himself, but he's scared of being rejected."

Yuriko's face was turning red as she clutched her bag closer to her chest. Haruhi smiled inwardly, and she imagined Ozzie was having a similar, if not more exurburant reaction to how well this was going. Only a little ways left to go now.

"He really said that?" Yuriko breathed. "Well, who is he? Tell me his name!"

_'It worked,'_Haruhi thought, sighing with relief before opening her mouth-

And promptly remembering that she knew absolutely nothing about the boy in question, not even his name.

She froze on the spot, Yuriko waiting impatiently for an answer. As the seconds passed by in silence, she very quickly shifted between blushing red to angered.

"Well? Aren't you going to say anything?"

When Haruhi didn't, Yuriko glared and let out a groan before pushing passed her.

"Okay, whatever," she snapped. "Real funny joke."

Her footsteps where inaudible on the grassy fields, and by the time she hit concrete, she was too far away for Haruhi to hear anyway. Standing rigid with a highly unhappy Ozzie in her pocket, Haruhi ignored the voice in her head that urged her to relieve the stress by smacking her head into that pillar, and started for the school building herself.

"Well, at least you didn't smack her over the head with it," he snidely remarked. "Who know, maybe third times a charm!"

With an irritated grumble, Haruhi readjusted the bag on her shoulder and stepped through the threshold, entering the usual swarm of students pushing their way to their classrooms. The orange of their Life Threads made her eyes hurt, but the accompanying blues and whites eased it a bit. So far, there wasn't a pink Thread in the bunch, and Haruhi was grateful.

After a quick stop at her locker, Haruhi raced against the chiming bell, more than three quarters of the way to her homeroom when she passed a rather slow walking girl going in the other direction. Haruhi stopped short and turned around. The girl was another she had never seen before, and had a funny way about her that made the other people walking by swerve to avoid her. With their wide eyes and jerking movements, they almost seemed afraid of her, and Haruhi wasn't entirely shocked by this. Whoever this girl was, she'd have fit in well with Nekozawa-senpai's black magic club. She was certainly strange looking like him.

Add in her glowing pink Life Thread, and Haruhi was left at a complete loss of what to make of her. The only thing she could say for sure was that Ozzie had nothing to say, and that was enough for her to decide it was okay to leave it alone for now and hurry off to class.

She still made a mental note to try and find the girl later.

**  
>Class wasn't any less colorful than any other place had been, but Haruhi was used to it by now. Ignoring all the Life Threads was almost becoming second nature to her, expect of course for the pink ones. As it was, only one pink Life Thread occupied the 24 student room, and it's owner was the greatest surprise of all. With the teacher momentarily away, she was dancing around like a happy child, her sandy brown hair whipping back and forth, almost smacking Haruhi in the face when she passed.<p>

Renge had been out sick the past few days, some kind of flu bug she'd caught from a careless maid, or so the story went. It seemed the otaku was just as fired up for Valentine's Day as the rest of the school, but maybe even more so now to make up for lost time.

"The party tonight is going to be so great! I've brought cookies and chocolates and any sort of gifts you might want. I hope everyone will have their date with them, because if you're alone on Valentine's Day YOU MIGHT AS WELL NOT EXIST!"

She shoved her face into that of a less popular young man's, who squeaked in fear and shrunk back.

"Maybe you should calm down a little," Kaoru muttered a way's away. "We may consider uninviting you."

This comment went unheeded, and Renge completed her terrorizing of the boy and trounced off to chat up someone else. She skipped past Haruhi, stopping briefly to wish her a Happy Valentine's Day, and her pink Life Thread went flying behind her from the force of her quick movements.

Haruhi watched it carefully. Since Ozzie was quiet and no one else in the room had a pink Life Thread, she could only assume the bubbly girl's Destined Love was somewhere else. She could only hope 'somewhere else' constituted somewhere in this school, because she had no doubt Ozzie would coerce her into going across the country if it meant finding Renge's match.

Lacing her fingers together on top of her desk, Haruhi bent her head slightly, shutting all outside noise out and concentrating solely on her thoughts, and on Renge.

_'It can't be Kyoya,'_ she thought. _'She already got over him, and his Life Thread is white anyway. The only ones with pink Life Threads are Hunny-senpai and Tamaki-senpai, but there's no way it could be either of them.'_

Even so, Haruhi couldn't help the wild thoughts that came to her. The idea of Renge and Hunny-senpai was laughable, they had all the wrong things in common and never really interacted much anyway. Renge and Tamaki-senpai was even sillier. They would probably kill each other if they tried, and the thought of them happy together and in love made Haruhi's fist clench as inexplicable anger boiled within her.

No, it couldn't be anyone in the Host Club who was meant for Renge.

But then who?

And for that matter, who were Tamaki and Hunny-senpai supposed to be with?

**  
>"Those two! Those two!"<p>

Haruhi swerved out of the way of those walking in the opposite direction, receiving a few incensed protests but paying them no mind. Lunch hour was in full swing, but it appeared Haruhi wouldn't get to enjoy the home cooked meal of rice and onigiri she'd prepared the night before. And she'd gotten the recipe just right this time too.

The couple in question were standing side by side in front of the school activities board. Located directly in the middle of the courtyard, this was were students and teachers posted upcoming events and club meetings. The young boy and girl perused pamphlets that had been left out, tight lipped and in general ignorant of the other's existence. Haruhi didn't know whether to slap a head to her forehead or sigh. Maybe she'd save time and just do both.

Haruhi took a look at one of the pamphlets still in the holder and read the title, the only part fully visible and not covered by a plastic container.

"Hey!" she called out, drawing both parties' attention to herself. "Are you going to the seminar on the Showa Dynasty?"

"Yeah," they answered in unison.

This was followed by the boy and girl starting and then slowly glancing at each other. Their cheeks tinged red, more so in the girl's case, but it was enough for Ozzie to give Haruhi the okay that they could move on.

"Simple and quick," he said. "I like it."

"Thanks, who's next?"

Ozzie raised an eyebrow.

"You seem kinda distracted. Something bothering you?"

"I'm fine," Haruhi said, finding a comfortable spot next to a tree and scanning the area for more pink Life Threads. "I just want to get this all done by the end of the day. I can't get out of the Valentine's Day party, but at least I want to be able to relax."

"You don't find this relaxing?" Ozzie asked, genuinely baffled.

Haruhi closed her eyes and exhaled through her noses. She let her body slide down into a seated position before opening them and again looking out. Everything was quiet today, as most of the louder people who usually filled the courtyard were off giving or receiving presents from their significant other. Most of the people around right now were either white or orange, and therefore no one she had to concern herself with. Now breathing easy, Haruhi pulled out that hard earned lunch of hers and dug in, content to spend the next hour reading a good book and forgetting about life for a little while.

By the time Haruhi's lunch container was empty and she'd gotten another chapter of her most recent library book done, a single pink Life Thread peeked out in the distance. It set Haruhi off before even Ozzie had a chance to see it. Though she didn't stand, Haruhi lifted her head as high as it would go to try and get a glimpse of it's owner. She was unsuccessful, until a flash of yellow appeared, and she needed no longer wonder who it was.

Tamaki was greeted by a great few of his more frequent customers as entered the courtyard. Haruhi no longer had to wonder where those orange Life Threads were pointing, and found the sight of them was suddenly even more unpleasant than usual. Violet eyes locked on brown very quickly, before Haruhi even knew it. Her senpai's face broke out in a grin as he zeroed in on her.

"Haruhi!" he called out. "I didn't know you were taking lunch out here."

"I do sometimes," Haruhi answered while cleaning up her things.

The bell rang and Haruhi got to her feet, bag in one hand and garbage in the other. She started for the nearest trash can, Tamaki in her wake.

"It's a beautiful day, isn't it?" he said. "Perfect weather for such a wonderful holiday."

He spread his arms wide, as if trying to grab the sunny sky and gentle breeze into his loving embrace. He even seemed to be sparkling with joy, and Haruhi could only shake her head and smile. Silly as her senpai's behavior could be, it was slowly growing on her, had been for a long time now.

"And so much love is in the air," he went on as they walked back into the school. "I don't think I've ever seen this many happy couples before. Everyone is really into the spirit this year."

"I think you're into it every day," Haruhi said softly, unaware that her senpai's hearing was much better than she was giving it credit for.

"Well, of course!" he said. "Love is a beautiful thing, and I want everyone to be able to experience it. I see so many people afraid to embrace it. They know who they want, but they're afraid to say it, afraid of rejection or ridicule. What if it doesn't work out? What if I'm wrong about them? What if my heart get broken? So many negative thoughts that they start to forget about the good. They stop taking chances, and forget that that's really what love is sometimes."

He moved in front of her, stopping her in her tracks and laying soft hands on her shoulders.

"Now that I think about it, love really can hurt sometimes, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't try. I've been meaning to talk to you about that, Haruhi."

"Oh yeah?" Haruhi asked, starting to become nervous as Ozzie lowered himself into her pocket.

"Yes, but first I'd like to apologize for lying to you earlier. When I went outside, I was actually looking for you," he said. "See, in the past few weeks, I've been doing a lot of thinking, and I've come to the conclusion that I… that I've been very stupid lately, because there are things that should have been obvious to me and they weren't. I was too foolish to see it, but not anymore."

He paused and took a deep breath. Haruhi felt like she should say something right about now, but couldn't bring herself to. Her symptoms were coming back with a vengeance, all the shaking of her hands and hotness in her face and rapid heart beating. It dawned on her that this only ever happened when Tamaki was around, and she didn't know yet if she was ready understand why, even if Tamaki was.

"What I'm trying to say," his voice went low, as if this was for only her to hear.

But Haruhi wasn't going to hear it, because something short and dressed in yellow hastily pushed passed them, shoving Tamaki into Haruhi and almost making them topple over.

"Sorry," the girl distractedly called over her shoulder.

Haruhi watched her go, instantly recognizing her from both the long black hair and pink Life Thread as that girl from before everyone shied away from. She was carrying a tray of food with several textbooks balanced on top in addition. She appeared very frazzled, but somehow kept her composure and had no trouble avoiding the few other people who littered the halls.

"Who was that?" Haruhi wondered allowed.

"You don't know?" Tamaki said, fear overtaking him and making him shiver. "That's Reiko Kanazuki, a member of the Black Magic Club. She must be bringing her dark leader his lunch and homework assignment."

The girl named Reiko stopped before a bolted door and held the tray up with her knee, allowing her to knock twice on the door.

"Let me in, Senpai," she called out. "You must eat today!"

"Haruhi, let's go," the now very pale Tamaki said, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her tight to him. "Before they put some kind of horrible curse on us and turn us into frogs or worse!"

Haruhi had to fight off both him and the flushing of her cheeks that derived from such close contact with him. The former was much easier than the latter despite his tight grip. All it took was pinching his hand to get him off, and make him run to the corner.

She thought about going to calm him down, and was just about to do just that. She could always talk to Reiko and find out who her Destined Love was later. Then the door opened, revealing the tiniest space of pure darkness. From her vantage point, Haruhi couldn't even see a candle lighting that room. Nekozawa, it seemed, had plunged himself into pitch blackness in his efforts to avoid the light and love.

_'Boy, wouldn't it be ironic if he had a pink Life Thread,'_ Haruhi joked to herself. Then she stopped and really thought about the last few days. _'Don't tell me…'_

A single hand stretched out of the room, reaching for Reiko and the items she carried. Attached to it was a pink Life Thread.

"Ozzie," Haruhi hissed. "Do you see that?"

The Cupid poked his head back out into the open, examined the scene, then shook his head.

"No, their Life Threads aren't for each other."

Haruhi nodded and started walking. A plan formulated in her mind, and with Tamaki sulking and no fear in her heart, nothing was going to stop her from putting it in motion. The only other person who might have was too busy cheering her on.

"Excuse me," Haruhi said.

Reiko's head whipped around, eyes wide as she took a step back defensively. Haruhi noted right away that the girl must be very shy. From inside the room, a haunting voice spoke.

"Reiko-san, what's going on out there? That sounded like Fujioka."

"It is me," Haruhi said. "I'm sorry to bother you two, I just wanted to invite you to the Host Club's Valentine's Day Party after school."

She heard Nekozawa let out a choking sound, along with some loud thumping, like he was pushing himself against a wall. Reiko, on the other hand, seemed much more receptive of this, losing the tension of her body and becoming more relax in her expression.

"You want us to come?" she breathed.

"NO!" came Nekozawa's shriek. The door shook as he almost opened threw it open, but seemed to catch himself at the last minute and just pressed up against it. "No, Reiko, I can't! It's too bright and so happy it'll kill me! I'LL DIE OUT THERE, DO YOU HEAR ME?"

Reiko stared at the door, expressionless, then leaned in close to Haruhi.

"We'd love to come," she whispered. "Don't worry about Senpai, I'll convince him. Thank you for considering us."

"No problem," Haruhi said, backing up slightly.

As she turned and walked away, she could still hear Nekozawa crying in terror at the mere thought of entering an outdoors area during the daylight. Though his voice was loud, Reiko's found a way over it, and Haruhi could hear her clearly.

"Maybe I'll finally get to talk to him…"

_'Him… I'm going to have to figure out who 'him' is.'_

"This is going to be great!" Ozzie could barely contain his glee. "Two more potential couples will find their happiness now thanks to you. You're really getting the hang of this, Haruhi!"

"Save it for when I've found their Destined Loves," she said.

A smile formed all the same, complimenting the happy feeling that welled up within her. Something about all that had occurred, from Tamaki's speech to meeting Reiko, renewed her energy, and made this harrowing job seem a little less tiring and a little more bearable. She didn't even feel sleepy anymore.

"Sometimes, you have to take a chance," she murmured.

"What was that?"

"Nothing, just something I heard once."

Tamaki was still in the corner when she got to him. Haruhi kneeled beside him and rested a hand on his shoulder, wordlessly guiding him to look up at her. His face was dry, and he appeared more curious now than sad.

"Come on, Senpai," she said. "Both of us have classes to get to. The party can't go on with two Hosts in detention."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Here's chapter 7!**

**Next up is the Valentine's Day party and then this story will have to come to an end. Don't be too upset, though. I promise the next three chapters are going to be very exciting.**

**See you then!**


	8. Epiphany of Cupid

The gorgeous weather maintained itself throughout the day, and so the Ouran Host Club Valentine's Day party started up without a hitch. Haruhi spent the first half hour on greeting duty with Hunny-senpai and Mori-senpai. More orange Life Threads came by than she could count. The vast majority were female, and many of them carried boxes and bags of chocolates with them. A few of the girls gave Haruhi looks that, much to her embarrassment, could only be described as lustful. She imagined she'd be going home today with heaps of chocolate-y gifts that would never even be eaten.

Maybe she'd just pass them on to Hunny-senpai once everyone left.

She was more than grateful when Kyoya-senpai came over to relieve her of her duties. Haruhi now sat in the corner by herself, tapping the glass table top while Ozzie wandered around in a circle, scanning the area.

"A lot to do, a lot to do…" he muttered every now and then.

Haruhi didn't know how much constituted 'a lot' and didn't want to either. The longer he left her alone and let her rest, the more happy she'd be with him. Maybe in another few minutes or so she'd have the energy to get started. For now, she'd just rest her head in her head and watch Hikaru and Kaoru try and pull Nekozawa-senpai out from under a heavily shaded tree with only the barest interest.

"STOP IT!" the Black Magic Club president screamed. "YOU CAN'T BRING ME OUT THERE, YOU MURDERERS!"

"Come on, suck it up, Senpai!" Kaoru groaned, pulling harder on his arm and leading Hikaru to follow suit.

"Who's bright idea was it to invite him anyway?" Hikaru said, just loud enough that Haruhi could hear, even over Nekozawa-senpai's shrill cries of fear.

In unison, the twins gave a mighty jerk and managed to bring Nekozawa halfway into the light. Though this soon proved futile, as Nekozawa immediately jerked back into the shadow with another terrified scream, Haruhi did get a nice, long look at his Life Thread. The bright pink color stuck out harshly against the cloak of pure black ever adorning Nekozawa's shoulders. She looked out into the crowd, full of happily smiling people either paired off or in groups. Blue and red hit her hard, with a some orange and white mixed in as well. Even so, today was an almost reverse situation to the one she'd been in on her first day as a cupid. So many couples were around, so many whose Life Threads dictated that they would be together forever. Haruhi had to admit, she liked the love in their eyes when one such couple looked at each other. Maybe it was just Ozzie wearing off on her, but they always seemed so genuine in their feelings. She noticed that they weren't overt about it like the blue Life Thread couples. A lot of them seemed to be making a show of it, prancing around and flirting in loud voices like they were the luckiest people on the face of the earth. All they really got in return were confused and irritated looked, as well as pearls of laughter from Ozzie. What little he was able to say coherently told Haruhi that this wasn't the first time he'd seen this, and that it never ever got old.

Shaking her head, Haruhi got back to the more important task at hand: finding the rest of the pink Life Threads she knew were going to be around. One of them had to go with Nekozawa-senpai's.

"Ozzie?" Haruhi said sharply as he stopped laughing to take a breath. "Are you sure all the pink Life Threads here connect? There aren't any stragglers or anything?"

Ozzie took in a few gulps of air and squeezed at his chest before answering.

"Yeah, pretty much. The only ones you don't have to worry about are those two guys over by the punch bowl. The one with the phone and the one reading. Their Destined Loves go to school in other districts. One of my co-workers will deal with them later. No, you only have a few more couples to worry about."

"Right," Haruhi said, still staring out at the sea of people. "One of them involves Nekozawa, another for Renge, Hunny-senpai, and…"

She had stopped speaking without knowing it, the sudden realization that she couldn't see Tamaki' blond head anywhere had hit harder than she thought it would. As she was wondering to herself where he might be and what he might be doing (probably just charming another one of his customers or something), someone else walked into her line of sight. Haruhi knew her face right away, even before the pink Life Thread was in view.

"It's her!" she said aloud. "That girl… Yuriko! She's here too?"

"Well, this party is open to all students, right?"

"Yeah," Haruhi said. "But you said everyone here with a pink Life Thread has a Destined Love around, so hers must be here too, right?"

Ozzie opened his mouth to respond, but stopped short for reasons Haruhi didn't understand until she heard a soft coughing behind her and turned around.

The girl who had approached was immediately familiar to her. She had bob cut black hair and shining brown eyes. Her skin was pale and her cheek sported a rather noticeable birthmark, that currently looked even bigger thanks to the face splitting grin she sported. Any wider and it would have been plain creepy. As it was, Haruhi couldn't think of a thing to say.

"Hi, Haruhi-kun," the girl said. "Nice to see you outside of the club for once. This is a great party by the way."

"Thanks, Fujimi-san," Haruhi said, nodded softly. "Do you need something."

"I just wanted to say hi." Fujimi shrugged. "And also, I need to ask you about Koji-kun. He's in your class, right?"

"Koji-kun?" Haruhi repeated, her mind immediately going to an image of the skinny young man who sat two rows in front of her and raised his hand about as often as she did, but otherwise never talked to anyone. Haruhi furrowed her brow. What on earth would Fujimi want with him? He didn't seem her type at all…

"So you know him?" Fujimi asked, rubbing her hands together with barely contained excitement. "Great! Do you know if he's seeing anybody?"

She leaned her head in closer, waiting expectantly for a response that Haruhi was still trying to figure out. She hadn't known Fujimi for long; the girl had only just started visiting the club a few weeks ago. From what little she had seen then and now, Haruhi could tell that the girl was really outgoing and loud. She seemed completely unafraid to let the world know where her affections lie, but she at least had enough restraint to make sure he was single first. On the flip side, Koji was a very reserved person. The few times Haruhi spoke to him, he rarely supplied more than a three word answer, unless the topic of discussion was something homework related; then he was an open book.

Haruhi tried to imagine Koji and Fujimi together. It was an… odd picture, to say the least. Fujimi was clearly the one who would take the initiative, and whether or not Koji would mind, Haruhi couldn't say. It didn't seem like anything that could go bad, so long as Fujimi knew to take it slowly. There was only one obstacle Haruhi could see that kept the two apart, but oh what an obstacle it was.

"Orange," Ozzie spoke the obvious, furthering it with a blatant gesture at Fujimi's Life Thread. "This one's dead in the water already. You know what to do, Haruhi."

Her eyes flicked to him for a brief second before she could stop it. The strange stab of annoyance she'd felt at his flippant tone was taking it's time in fading. It didn't help that he was right. That orange color was bright and unmistakable. Haruhi thought to look around for Koji, maybe see if he had a similar color, but instead she maintain eye contact with Fujimi, who appeared to be growing impatient.

"Well, is he?" she said with a great deal more force.

"I…" Haruhi started to say, feeling the intensity of both Fujimi and Ozzie's gazes increase. She tried to ignore how it bothered her as she finally spoke. "No, I'm pretty sure he's not."

Out the corner of her eye, Ozzie's mouth fell open, but Haruhi paid him no mind as she was suddenly assaulted by a squealing Fujimi, pulling her into a hug.

"That's great! That's awesome," she cried. "Oh my God, you have no idea how relieved I am."

"No, I think I do," Haruhi said, slightly pained from Fujimi's shockingly tight grip.

"Thank you so much," Fujimi said as she let Haruhi go and jumped away. "If you'll excuse me, I have someone very special to talk to. Bye, Haruhi-kun!"

She took off in a sprint, pushing past crowds of befuddled students and making a break for the main gate, at which point, Haruhi's attention was once again diverting to someone else.

"What was that?" Ozzie said in a low voice. "Do you realize what you just did?"

Haruhi gave him a look of her own. "She asked me a question, I gave her an answer, an _honest_ one."

"You gave her- YOU SET HER UP WITH SOMEONE WHO ISN'T HER DESTINED LOVE! WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?"

"Do NOT yell at me," Haruhi snapped in as loud a voice as she could manage without being heard by an outside party. "All I did was tell her that he isn't seeing anyone and he's not. I know Koji-kun, he's never been on a date with anyone. Believe me, the way my classmates are, I would know about that."

"Well, now you're going to hear all about his failed relationship with some random girl he wasn't supposed to be with anyway."

"Are you listening to yourself?" Haruhi turned abruptly, knocking Ozzie off her shoulder and onto a nearby table in the process. "Aren't you supposed to be some kind of expert at love? Because even I know that this isn't a big deal. I mean, Koji-kun might not even feel that way about Fujimi-san. Or if they do go out, I doubt it would end _that_ badly. Koji-kun doesn't seem the type to just callously break a girl's heart. They'll probably just decide they're better off as friends or something and go their separate ways. Plus, the experience of being together might help them in future relationships. Ever thought of _that?"_

She met his glare with a harsh look of her own, and refused to let up even as Ozzie got back to his feet. At a very non-threatening six inches, he couldn't do much by way of frightening her, aside from maybe kicking her in the finger. Then, suddenly and without warning, Ozzie's face broke out in a massive grin and he let out a whooping laugh that left Haruhi baffled.

"What the- what are you laughing at?"

"I-I'm sorry," Ozzie wheezed and slapped his knee. "I not trying to offend you, really! But yeah, I know exactly what you mean. I was just checking to make sure _you _understood."

Haruhi deflated, her shoulders falling heavily as she worked out the meaning behind Ozzie's words and tried to block out the sound of his continuing laughter.

"So… that was a test," she said after a minute.

"Sort of, yeah," Ozzie said. "Not Fujimi coming over, that was all her. I just used it to my advantage is all. My instructors did that a lot to me when I was in training. They faked me out so many times, I can't even tell you. Some of them just made me so nervous after a while, I could never tell when they were really angry or just…"

His words faded away until they no longer registered in Haruhi's mind. She focused now on the people around her, all the reds and blues and oranges and whites. The pinks she knew remained were nowhere to be found, aside from Nekozawa-senpai, whom Hikaru and Kaoru had long since given up on. With him lost in the shadows, Haruhi was left to search for the rest of those people who needed her attention, all while trying to figure out if she would rather give Ozzie the cold shoulder for tricking her, or begrudgingly thank him for the thinly veiled compliment.

Becoming antsy, Haruhi began walking around the table, looking out in every direction she could while Ozzie went on with his ramblings. He didn't notice that she was no longer listening until she'd made three full circles. He said nothing about this, but ceased speaking altogether as Haruhi scanned the foreground for the third time, feeling more and more that it was futile and she'd be better off looking somewhere else. She didn't know if Ozzie was thinking similarly, but when she wordlessly lowered her hand for him to step up, he did so immediately with no questions.

With the tiny cupid back in his place on her shoulder, Haruhi started for the crowd of party guests, giving quick responses to those who called out to her and returning the any soft smiles sent her way. She found the orange Life Threads many of them bore didn't bother her as much as they had in previous days, but that might have just been because here, Haruhi had no way of knowing which ones were targeted at her and which weren't. She liked it far better that way.

Haruhi was zeroed in on the task at hand, at finding those remaining pink Life Threads. So much so, that when not one, but two appeared in her line of sight, Haruhi was halfway to them before Ozzie even knew what was happening. It was the girl who caught her attention first. She was fairly tall and skinny, her auburn hair split into two braids and her hands clasped in front of her chest. She looked like the picture of shy innocence as she spoke in low tones to the young man before her. Haruhi wondered for a fraction of a second if the girl was confessing love to boy, but that theory went out the window the once Haruhi came into earshot and heard exactly what the girl was saying.

"…and I was hoping I could talk to you about this. I know I don't bring it up much when I come to visit, but I've known him for so many years and I think I might be in love with him. Will you please help me?"

That the person she was speaking to was Tamaki-senpai also helped.

"Hey there," Haruhi called out without thinking.

Tamaki and the girl turned, blinking in confusion, though Tamaki at least looked happy to see her. He flashed that charming smile of his, and for a moment, Haruhi's chest hurt again.

"There you are, Haruhi," Tamaki said, raising his arms as if to hug her. "I haven't seen you at all since the party started. Allow me to introduce Mikage-san. She's a more frequent guest of mine and she's having a bit of trouble."

Haruhi nodded. "Yeah, I know. I uh- I couldn't help overhearing. Something… about a guy, right?"

A funny sort of sound escaped Mikage-san's throat, and she shrunk away from the two hosts like a frightened child. Haruhi, it seemed, was right about the girl being shy. When she didn't regain composure, Tamaki stepped forward and offered her a comforting hand.

"It's okay, Mikage-hime," he said gently, the title slipped past his lips with what had to be a heavily practiced ease. "Haruhi is my dear friend and you can trust him implicitly. In fact, I believe having two opinions may better serve you. Wouldn't you agree, Haruhi?"

He gave her a look, eyes searching hers and Haruhi met him with a thin lipped smile and a friendly glance at Mikage-san.

"I'd be happy to help however I can," she said.

Ozzie let out a laugh that rung in her ears.

"I should've given him my powers too, then you guys could be a real team."

Haruhi didn't respond, either in words or actions, though she did briefly consider shaking Ozzie off her shoulder. She scrapped that idea once Mikage-san straightened herself out.

"Well, okay," she said, clearing her throat. "His name is Yuu. I met him in Junior High when he first transferred in. He was kind of shy, and I was assigned to show him around the school. We became good friends, and have been ever since. It's just that lately…"

"Your feelings have started to change," Haruhi said when Mikage-san's paused had gone on for too long.

She nodded weakly, lowering her head a bit.

"Go on," Tamaki said.

She did so without looking back up. "I don't know when it started, when I… when I fell for him. We have also been so comfortable together, I can talk to him about anything and never feel afraid. But then I started to feel nervous around him. My heart would beat faster when he was around, my face would heat up when he smiled at me. There was this girl who had a thing for him last month, and whenever she tried flirting with him, I got so angry. It made no sense at all, but I just hated the thought of his returning her feelings. I mean, I wouldn't have tried to stop them if he did, I want him to be happy! I just…"

Though it was unnecessary as Mikage didn't have any more to say, Tamaki raised a hand to her. He had heard enough.

"Mikage-san," he said. "I can tell you with utmost certainly that what you feel for this boy is love."

She sucked in a breath.

"I know," she said. "I mean, I thought so."

"And now you have to let him know how you feel, otherwise it'll keep eating away at you."

"What?" Mikage said, her head snapping up. "But what if he doesn't feel the same way."

"If he's as good a man as you imply, he will not hurt you, even if he doesn't return your feelings," Tamaki said.

"It scares me."

"I know," Tamaki answered, suddenly becoming stiff. "Believe me, I know."

Haruhi stood there silently, listening half-heartedly to the conversation happening just to her left. Her eyes were on the grass, and her mind was on Mikage. On her words.

They ran through her head over and over again, growing louder and faster and almost painful.

'_I started to feel nervous around him… My heart would beat faster… whenever she flirted with him, I got so angry…'_

'_Then it's love,' _Tamaki had said.

"Love?" Haruhi mouthed, the simple four letter word suddenly feeling heavy on her tongue; intimidating almost.

'_Is that really what love is?' _she thought. _'Is that all? It can't be! That's not how you fall in love with someone, that's just… hints, maybe?'_

Haruhi glanced at Tamaki. He was speaking in gentle tones to Mikage, coaching her with the genuine care Haruhi had come to expect from him when it came to his clients. Or anyone for that matter.

He smiled at one point, and Haruhi's heart skipped a beat.

'_No, that's… you have to know a person to fall in love with them. This isn't love at first sight, Mikage-san knows her friend, she's seen him at his best and worst and she knows who he is under the mask. That's why…'_

Haruhi's hand curled into a fist, so tight her nails threatened to tear at her palms.

'_That's why her heart beats faster around him, and her face heats up when he smiles, and why she feels so intensely jealous with all those girls around him every single day. It gets so bad, she starts to think something is wrong with her, like an illness of some kind, but that's not it. She's never really loved anyone besides her parents, and then her friends somehow wormed their way in, but it's different with him. Maybe it wasn't before, but now…'_

"Haruhi?" Tamaki sounded worried as he said her name.

Haruhi looked up, fighting back the hot, stinging tears and forcing herself to smile at Mikage-san.

"Sorry," she said. "I was just thinking… about what you said, Mikage-san."

She took a deep shaking breath, avoiding the shine of his blonde hair in her side vision at all costs. She didn't think she could bare it right now.

"I agree with Tamaki-senpai. What you feel… it's definitely love."

* * *

><p>Haruhi sat alone under a tree and the farthest edge of the garden. The party was in full swing all around her, but she had no desire to join in on the celebrations just yet. The young girl had quite a bit on her mind, and someone wasn't helping.<p>

"What was with you back there? You totally spaced out," Ozzie stood right in front of her ear. This was the only way he could get a reaction out of her now that she'd made it a point to ignore him completely. "It's lucky your friend was around to smooth things over. That girl and her Destined Love should be fine now, no thanks to you."

"Just stop it, Ozzie," Haruhi said softly. "I'm not in the mood."

"My God, she speaks!"

Growling, Haruhi bent back her head against the tree. In her lack of focus, she put too much force behind it and had to deal with some minor shockwaves of pain running down her skull. The wood's hard and rough texture felt good regardless, and she allowed herself a few gulps of air to hopefully calm herself back down. She laughed humorlessly, wondering who the hell she was kidding. Even if she got close to relaxed, an image of Tamaki's face would appear without warning and rile her back up.

He would be there smiling, laughing, crying, screaming, falling on his face, trying to charm her, hugging her, spinning her around, standing there watching her, calling out her name, telling her he loved her back…

Haruhi groaned and smacked a fist into her temple, praying that it would somehow dislodge the thoughts and grant her a reprieve from it all. That last one hadn't even happened yet ('Yet,' she thought with a humorless laugh)! When it didn't come, she slumped further down, almost her entire back in the grass dirtying up her jacket. She didn't care in the slightest.

"I don't believe this," she groaned, bringing her hands to her forehead and massaging it.

"What?" Ozzie asked.

Haruhi sighed and pulled herself back up.

"Nothing, I don't want to talk about it," she said, and then mentally added, 'I'm not ready to deal with this yet.'

Ozzie raised an eyebrow, but asked no further questions. For that, Haruhi couldn't have been more grateful.

"Well, your break's over then," he said. "You've made good progress, but we still have a few more couples to put together. I'd say about four or five."

"That doesn't sound too hard," Haruhi said, glad to have something else to think about now.

"Depends," Ozzie said cryptically. "So far, we have your pal, Renge, and we don't know who she's supposed to be with yet. Yuriko and her destined love are definitely here- his name is Kazuya, by the way- and then there's Reiko Kanazuki."

Haruhi nodded, making a mental list of all those names in checklist form. "So that's three."

"Right," Ozzie said. "And while I'm still not sure who everyone goes with, I do know that every girl here with a pink Life Thread definitely has a Destined Love in this garden right now."

"Sounds easy enough," Haruhi said, getting to her feet. "I already know Yuriko's Destined Love, Renge and Reiko-san shouldn't be too hard if I can find them."

'_Not to mention looking for their matches will help me keep my mind of off other things.'_

"HARUHIIII!"

The voice came from behind her, growing in volume with each syllable. Haruhi turned obliviously, just in time to see a head of swishing brown hair and pink bows diving at her.

"Huh? Wh-AAAH!"

Renge tackled her into a hug, crushing her bones with shocking force as she squealed in fangirl-y happiness about… something or other. Really, Haruhi never knew what to think when Renge was involved.

"Oh, Haruhi," the club manager said upon letting go. "Sorry about that, I just get really excited about Valentine's Day."

"Yeah, I can tell," Haruhi said through grit teeth as she rubbed her aching sides.

"I'm just I needed to talk to you right away. I'm glad I finally caught you alone!"

"O-oh yeah?" Haruhi asked. _'Please don't be about to declare your love for me or something. You already have a Destined Love and it's sure as hell not me… right?'_

Before Haruhi could dwell more on that less than pleasant notion, Renge was embracing her again. Thankfully, it was a looser hold this time, one she could easily pull herself out of. Whatever Renge wanted, Haruhi would just have to get it out of the way quickly so they could move on to the important stuff. Namely, finding out who Renge was destined to spend the rest of her life with. Knowing Renge, she'd be far more interested in that.

She probably just wanted to ask about club business or homework.

"I know all about you and your feelings for Tamaki-senpai."

Haruhi stopped. Completely stopped. Stopped moving, stopped breathing.

She imagined this was how getting a bucket of ice bucket dumped on one's head felt like.

And now everything Tamaki related had come crashing back down into her mind again.

"Wh-what?" she choked out.

Renge giggled, blissfully unaware of the tailspin her words were putting Haruhi's mind through.

"Oh come on, don't deny it. You're not exactly subtle about it," she said.

"I… I don't understand…"

"What's there to understand?" Renge asked. "You're in love with Tamaki-senpai and so of course you want to be with him. I've been seeing the signs for weeks now, and I'm here to tell you: you should go for it."

Shakily, Haruhi reached around for a chair to sit on before she fell over. She found nothing, and had to dig her feet into the dirt for more leverage. She bit but a gasp, sucking in air through her teeth as she once again found Tamaki, with his violet eyes and tousled blonde hair, in the forefront of her mind with no intentions of leaving any time soon.

"You think I'm in love with Tamaki-senpai," she said weakly.

"I know you are," Renge intoned. "And it's okay, I won't tell anyone. You can come out as gay at your own pace, Haruhi-kun. I just want you and Tamaki-senpai to happy. Dumbass narcissist he may be, I think you two would be great together."

"Wait a minute," Haruhi cried, all her energy coming back to her at once from places unknown. "Just… wait a minute. Renge, tell me what makes you think Tamaki and I would want to be together."

Renge gave her a funny look, one Haruhi could almost mistake for serious. Bring a finger to her chin, Renge tapped lightly and looked Haruhi up and down like she was a bug under a microscope.

"Well, first of all, you need to fix your jacket, it's a mess," she said, waving a hand at Haruhi's chest. "And I can see the way you guys look at each other, and the way you have his complete attention when you speak. Every day, you're the first one he wants to talk when he arrives and the last one he says goodbye to when he leaves. Plus, I know about all those times he's protected you from harm. I mean, he jumped into an ocean twice for you! If that's not love, I don't know what it."

Where Haruhi's head not spinning so fast, she might've wondered who had told Renge about all those things, only to come to the conclusion that this was Renge she was talking about and she had to have sources everywhere. Events replayed before her eyes in fast forward, all through the filter of Tamaki possibly feeling the same way… and it made so much sense to her. Not only that, it made Haruhi's heart swell in her chest.

She felt happy, happier than she had in days. She hadn't even done anything yet, hadn't talked to him about it.

"This makes no sense…" she muttered softly.

But it was still loud enough for Renge to hear.

"It makes perfect sense," she said. "I won't force you to do anything now, but I want you to confess your love for Tamaki at least by the end of the day. You guys would make far too cute a couple for me to just let it slide."

With that, Renge turned all the way around and pranced away like she was walking on air. She sang along to a tune no one could hear, her voice pitchy and off-key, not that Haruhi was one to talk. She hardly noticed it anyway. All of her surrounding were now a blur of noise and color, the only thing clear to her was the handsome blonde in her head who looked so lovingly at her.

And the real one..

Haruhi walked. There was no conscious thought behind it, not at first, but she took long strides away from the tree and into the fray. Gently moving past fellow students, ignoring those that called out to her, stepping over loose trash and making Ozzie's newest spot in her pocket shake madly with each step.

"Hey! Hey!" he shouted. "Easy there. You trying to kill me?"

"You're a spirit right now, you can't get hurt," Haruhi said curtly. "And I'm taking another break from work."

"What? Who said you could do that?"

"I did," Haruhi snapped, no longer caring who saw her as she pulled her jacket up to get a better look at his shocked face. "Because if I don't do this now, it'll drive me crazy until I do, and then I won't be able to get anything else done, including _your job_. Do you want that?"

"No," Ozzie said. "But can you at least tell me what you're doing?"

"I need to talk to Tamaki-senpai."

"You do?" Ozzie said excitedly. Following a slight pause, he coughed twice and slid casually back into her pocket. "Okay whatever, just make it fast."

"Right," Haruhi said distractedly, scanning the sea of brown and red head for even a hint of yellow.

It wasn't long before her efforts bore fruit. Tamaki was over by the refreshment table now, talking amiably to someone Haruhi couldn't see. Paying this no mind, she moved past various obstacles and questioning people, her heart beating faster as she got closer and closer to him. She didn't even give herself time to stop and think about what she would say. All that would accomplish was giving herself a huge case of nerves. How exactly were you supposed to tell someone you love them?

She'd find out firsthand in just a few more seconds.

'_It'll be fine,' _she told herself. _'I just have to say it, just come right out with it. No beating around the bush. I have to do this even if he doesn't feel the same.'_

She turned a corner, and she could see him perfectly now just up ahead. She picked up the pace.

'_No matter what happens, I'll have plenty of time to finish Ozzie's work later. It won't take long. There are only a few people left with pink Life Threads. Those two guys Ozzie mentioned before who I don't have to worry about, and then there's Renge, Nekozawa, Yuriko and Kazuya, and-'_

Haruhi stopped.

Her foot was caught suspended in mid step, and came down heavily when she almost lost her balance. Her legs began to feel weak then for an entirely different reason.

There was Tamaki, handsome and cheerful as ever, chatting with only the barest hint of fear with Reiko Kanazuki. Outside in the open air and sunshine, she looked far prettier and more alive. She still had the distinct air around her of a black magic user, but there was also a glow about her, as if something had happened in the past few hours that had made her happier than she'd ever been before.

Something like finding true love.

Haruhi glanced back and forth, from Tamaki to Reiko, one pink Life Thread to the other. With a sick feeling, she recalled what Ozzie had told her before.

All the girls with pink Life Threads had a Destined Love right here at the party.

Only two boys with pink Life Threads did not.

Tamaki was _not_ one of those boys.

Haruhi's throat suddenly felt dry, she could barely speak.

"Ozzie," she said, her voice almost a croak. "Are they…"

She looked down at him, searching for any indication anywhere that she was jumping to conclusions, that this wasn't what it looked like. Just a moment ago, she could've sworn she heard him suck in a breath and matter something almost unintelligible that sounded like cursing. She didn't know what that meant or if it was even real, but right now, as Tamaki and Reiko engaged in deep conversation about God only knows what, completely unaware of Haruhi's tearful visage watch them like a hawk, Ozzie wasn't telling her that she was wrong.

He wasn't saying a single word.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Two chapters left now! Two chapters which I swear on my life will be out much faster than this one was and which will also explain everything so please, PLEASE don't kill me for what just happened. **


	9. Sacrifice of Cupid

Haruhi was never big into romance as a child, or really ever until Ozzie literally dropped into her life. As such, she'd never quite got the concept of a broken heart. She understood the meaning behind the phrase, just not what had started it. Could being rejected by a crush or ending a relationship with someone really make someone feel that bad? Like their hearts had actually been smashed into pieces? It seemed a little far-fetched.

Sitting at the lone empty table in the farthest corner of the garden she could find, with her head in her hands and tears freely leaking, Haruhi now knew with absolute certainty that it wasn't. It was, in fact, far worse than she could have imagined.

At least a quarter of an hour had passed since Haruhi staggered away from Tamaki-senpai and Reiko, but she could still she them in her mind's eye with perfect clarity. Every single trivial detail from the one undone button on Tamaki's shirt to the half eaten scone Reiko held on a paper plate. It was ridiculous that she could be that affected by something that, from an objective standpoint, did not affect her life at all.

So what if Tamaki-senpai and Reiko are supposed to be together? Haruhi had put together at least thirty couples in the past few days. Nothing was different here except that she happened to know the male half pretty well. Very well.

Well enough to be in love with him.

'_It _is_ different,' _her inner voice said. _'You can try all you like, but you can't deny it. Seeing him with another woman is killing you, and you actually have to bring them together! It's inevitable that you will walk away from this with nothing but misery.'_

Haruhi groaned and kneaded her fingers into her skull. She couldn't handle that stupid voice in her head right now.

"Go away… go _away_…"

"Hey!" Ozzie shouted, stamping a foot in her face to make her glance up. "What are you doing sitting down on the job. There are still more people here, wandering around Destined Loveless and you need to get on that."

For once, Haruhi didn't have the energy to snap back at him. She no longer wanted to anyway. As if sensing her distress, Ozzie's anger softened and he sat down in front of her.

"Look, I know that was hard for you to see. I don't blame you for being upset, but we still have a job to do."

Haruhi paused, then wiped the tears away from her eyes and sat up. She looked coldly down on Ozzie, an inexplicable anger filling her and demanding to be unleashed.

"It's not even supposed to be my job," she said, her voice going low and making Ozzie stiffen. "I never wanted it in the first place. You forced it on me. I would have been just fine if I never had it. I'd be doing even better, because this never would have happened."

"Oh really?" Ozzie shot back to his feet, not about to be cowed by his own substitute. "You think you wouldn't have figured it out eventually that you love him? You may be oblivious, Haruhi, but not that much. You would have worked it out on your own, all I've done, if anything, is make you realize sooner."

"And look at where that's gotten me," Haruhi cried, getting up to pace as a fresh batch of tears welled up. "I have to watch him fall in love with someone else. I have to be the one to _make _him fall in love with her. I never wanted this! I don't even like Valentine's Day. It's such a stupid holiday, why do we even need it?"

Haruhi fell back into her seat, not caring in the slightest that she'd potentially enraged Ozzie by insulting the day he loved so much. She wasn't sorry for saying it either. It had been on her mind since day one and it was about time she spoke her mind. Then she saw the hurt look on his face, and suddenly felt awful for another reason.

"Why do we need it?" Ozzie said softly, almost introspectively. "Why do you think we don't? Is it because we shouldn't reserve our love for someone for just one day? Because it's too commercial? Because people look down on those who are single? Well, you may be right, but those things aren't what Valentine's Day is really about. It's a reminder of the love you and your partner share. It's a day to celebrate your love. You should express it every day, make it known, but Valentine's Day is the day to really appreciate how blessed you are to have this remarkable person in your life. Do you know what I mean?"

Haruhi stared at him, her mind still processing his words as the need to cry slowly receded into nothing. She shook her head.

"I think it means you watch too many TV movies," she said.

Ozzie visibly deflated, but then Haruhi smiled.

"I do understand what you mean, though," she said. "Thanks for trying to cheer me up."

Haruhi stood, stretching the kinks out of her back and then allowing Ozzie to climb onto her hand and up her arm.

"Are sure you're okay?" he asked once he'd taken he usual place next to her ear.

"I just want to get this over with," she said stiffly. "So, we already know about Tamaki-senpai and… and Reiko. Then there's Kazuya and Yuriko, that just leaves Renge. Renge and… wait-"

Haruhi whirled around. The ever growing crowd of party goers was a mixture of blue and yellow uniforms, without a hint of black in the bunch. For that matter, no pink bows where visible either. The former, at least, was a given, but where on earth had Renge gone off to?

Haruhi broke into a run. Ozzie was almost thrown off, but grabbed hold of her blazer at the last minute. His body flew into the air, but he didn't scream or anything. He must have been used to it by now. Haruhi entered the crowd, trying hard not to bump into people or draw attention to herself. Several times, one of her more devoted (and far too noticeably orange Life Thread bearing) fans almost caught a glimpse of her. Haruhi ducked out of sight in the nick of time and went on.

She came out the other end no worse for the wear, but she had found nothing. Not a single trace of Renge. It was like she had disappeared. Haruhi rubbed her temples and bit back a groan of frustration.

"Great, just great," she said. "Always barging in at the most unnecessary times, but when you actually need to find her…"

"Are you talking about Renge?" Ozzie asked.

Haruhi gawked at him. "_Who else? _I think I know who her Destined Love- I can hardly believe it- and it looks like she's already left. That figures…"

"What do you mean, she left?" Ozzie was fighting back a grin, and that just made Haruhi even more agitated. Now was not the time for him to be playing games with her.

"You know where she is then?"

"Yes," Ozzie answered slyly. "And you would too if you'd stop freaking out over nothing and look under that tree over there."

Haruhi blinked, needing a second to process that before she did as she was told and looked. The first thing of note was that the tree was Nekozawa's. He'd been hiding under it since the moment he'd arrived, half dragged along by a breathless Reiko. He was still there now, Haruhi doubted he'd be moving until nightfall. The biggest difference from before was that he was no longer alone.

Renge was with him.

"No way…" Haruhi's jaw was almost on the floor.

Ozzie smiled knowingly.

They went over. Haruhi stepped lightly so not to draw their attention. Renge was seated beside Nekozawa, her legs pulled all the way up and covered by long skirts. She was talking animatedly to their senpai about… something. Haruhi wasn't close enough to hear more than a word at a time. Whatever it was, Nekozawa actually seemed intrigued by it. He listened carefully and appeared to be looking right into her eyes (the hood made it difficult to tell). They actually looked pretty normal under there, like this was a totally natural thing that happened every day.

Haruhi eyed their Life Threads, still bring pink and unconnected. Ozzie shifted beside her for a better look. She could feel the smile creeping it's way up his face.

"They uh…" Haruhi wasn't often struck completely speechless like this. It was an unpleasant feeling. When no words would come to her, she settled for a stiff wave of her hand at their individual Life Threads.

Ozzie nodded in understanding. "Yeah, they're for each other."

"Really?" Haruhi said, eyebrows going all the way up her hairline. "I never expected… I mean, I don't know of many times that they've hung out, and now… are you sure?"

"Hey, you thought of it first, didn't you?"

"Well, yeah…" Haruhi trailed off lamely. "It's just- actually seeing it like this is something else."

Renge let out a laugh, shrill and melodious, before grabbing Nekozawa's hooded head and planted a kiss on his temple.

"You are something else, you know that, Senpai?" she said loudly.

What little of Nekozawa's face Haruhi could see was bright red. Renge didn't notice, and her wandering eyes soon fell on Haruhi.

"Oh, hey!" she said, waving at her. "Looking for someone?"

Renge winked, a very unsubtle grin flashing fast, then falling away as she turned her focus back on Nekozawa. She didn't even seem to care whether or not Haruhi answered.

"So those two figured it out for themselves," Ozzie observed. "It happens."

"But their Life Threads haven't connected," Haruhi said.

"Not yet, but they will soon," Ozzie said. "I told you, our job is mainly to push people in the right direction and everything else is on them. Sometimes, a person is smart enough to go for it on their own, and that's what happened here."

Haruhi glanced at him, then back at Renge and Nekozawa-senpai. They sure seemed happy to be in each other's company. A hint of sunlight was striking Nekozawa-senpai's shoe, but he hadn't even noticed.

"It's pretty cool, huh?"

Haruhi nodded slowly, not taking her eyes off the 'couple' before her. The party went on behind her, louder now as Kyoya-senpai declared the dance floor open and started up some cheery pop music. Haruhi took a step back, locking eyes one more time with Renge, who grinned reassuringly at her. At a certain point, Haruhi turned her back to them, and the very first thing she saw was Yuriko sitting alone at one of the tables with a book and a glass of juice. Haruhi backed up behind a smaller tree to avoid being spotted, watching her and wishing Kazuya could be somewhere nearby.

Ozzie answered her prayers.

"Destined Love, twelve o'clock," he tugged at her ear lobe, pointing in the direction of the entrance, where Kazuya stood drinking his own juice.

They were directly across from each other, completely unaware that the other existed. Haruhi remembered her Dad watching sappy movies where things like this happened. Life really did imitate art sometimes.

Now what was she supposed to do with them?

"I don't suppose they can do it on their own too," she said, already knowing what Ozzie would say.

"I think these two have a bit of a wall between them," he said, not disappointing. "Sorry, Haruhi, you aren't getting out of this job. You're going to have to give them the first push."

Haruhi thought about it. Something in Ozzie's words was like a trigger, getting the wheels in her head turning faster than ever. She looked at Yuriko, then at Kazuya; she focused on the drinks in their hands, and she got it.

"I have an idea."

This perked Ozzie right up. "Great! What are we doing?"

"I'm going to need a little more help," she said, taking note of the way Ozzie's face fell. "Don't worry, I'm not going to tell them anything. First off, remember the party last night, when you used me as a channel for your powers? Do you think you can do that again?"

* * *

><p>Hikaru and Kaoru were with a few of their regulars when Haruhi found them. Kaoru had, as usual, 'accidentally' spilled hot tea on his hand, leaving Hikaru to 'tend' to his wounds. Haruhi was pretty sure that didn't require longing stares or whispered affirmations of brotherly love, but who was she to judge? The girls loved it anyway.<p>

"You must be more careful, Kaoru," Hikaru said sternly.

Kaoru looked away with feigned embarrassment. "I'm just so clumsy sometimes."

"It's alright, brother, I like cleaning your wounds for you…"

"Oh, Hikaru…"

"KYAAAAAA!"

Haruhi's eye twitched. _'If either of them meet their Destined Loves while still in High School, it's going to kill these girls.'_

"Hey guys!" she shouted over the incessant squee-ing. "Sorry, but can we talk for a second?"

The twins looked at each other, then casually excused themselves to the girls, far too wrapped up in their twincest induced high to protest. The filed out into the open space and came to stand before Haruhi, easy smiles adorning their faces.

"What can we do for you?" Kaoru asked.

Haruhi straightened, serious like a teacher giving a lecture. She had no time to wait.

"I need your help, and it's going to sound a little strange, but here's what I want you guys to do…"

* * *

><p>Yuriko turned to the next page, reading the first line and feeling increasingly bored. Coming to this party hadn't been as good an idea as she thought. All her friends were off mooning over their favorite host or having alone time with their boyfriends. Yuriko was the only one with no desire to do either, so why was she even here again?<p>

She was reaching blindly for her juice when someone ran into the table, jostling it. Her hand came down and felt something wet and sticky creeping along the surface. Yuriko jumped up, waving her fingers in the air and looking upon her fallen juice cup. The boy who'd run into it was still there, shrugging and grinning apologetically. Yuriko recognized him instantly as one of the Hitachiin twins.

"Oh man, I'm so sorry," he said, picking up her glass and righting it. "I'll get someone to clean this up. In the mean time, why don't you go to the refreshment table and get some more?"

Yuriko furrowed her brow, staring at him oddly for a moment. Then she stepped around him on her way to the table, picking up her glass along the way.

Hikaru watched her go with a smile on his face.

* * *

><p>Kazuya was raising his glass for another drink when someone bumped into him.<p>

The shock knocked his glass out of his hand and into the grass. His delicious orange juice seeped into the dirt for the worms to enjoy while Kazuya was left to stare brokenly at the mess.

"Oh, sorry," the person who ran into him said.

Kazuya looked up. It was a redheaded boy he'd seen with one of the first year classes.

"No problem, I guess."

The redhead motioned for the drinks table. "You can get more over there if you want."

"Thanks," Kazuya said, then started for the table before things could get any weirder.

Kaoru waited for a short time, then started off in the other direction.

"Mission Accomplished."

* * *

><p>Haruhi saw them coming, Yuriko on the left and Kazuya on the right. From the speed at which they were walking, they would almost certainly reach the table at the same time, exactly as Haruhi had planned. She made a note to thank the twins a hundred times over for the help if this worked out.<p>

She was crouched down under the table, the punch bowl directly above her. With the lack of a tablecloth and clear top, it would have been very easy to spot her, where it not for Ozzie. The tiny Cupid sat in Haruhi's left hand, eyes closed as he poured his magic through her body and blended it in with their surroundings. Being invisible felt like nothing at all, going far against Haruhi's initial expectations. There was no pain, no tingling, and when she looked down, she could still see her lower half perfectly. It seemed the spell didn't work on her own eyes, but enough people had come and gone and looked directly at her while getting their drinks without reacting that Haruhi knew it was working.

Everything was working.

She kept literally on her toes, switching from Yuriko to Kazuya several times. They were moving slower than she thought, or maybe Haruhi was just getting excited. She didn't recall ever feeling like this about a match-making job, but she'd never failed twice with anyone but these two anyway.

_'I wonder if I'm enjoying this,'_ she thought.

Something about that made her smile as Kazuya made it to the table and started ladling punch into his cup. Yuriko was almost there. She was three steps away when Haruhi made her move. This was her only shot.

It happened in two seconds.

Haruhi stuck her leg out.

Yuriko's foot collided with it, and Haruhi was finally made aware of the hard and pointy tips of her shoes.

She hissed in pain while Yuriko shrieked and stumbled.

Kazuya turned, not conscious of what was happening until the flailing Yuriko collapsed against him, sending him falling to the ground with her. Haruhi scrambled to get away, almost dropping Ozzie in the process.

"Could you be careful for one second?" he cried, hanging on desperately to her pinky finger while still somehow keeping the spell going. "I know I can't feel pain in this form but I don't feel like falling from any sort of high place. It's bad enough that my wing is still healing."

Haruhi got to her feet and ran to a clear spot, getting far enough away so that nobody could see her, and breathed a sigh of relief.

"Okay, you can stop now," she said.

"Way ahead of you," Ozzie said, gasping for air like he'd just run a hundred miles. He slumped down in her palm. "I hope you know that takes a lot out for me. You should be thanking me on bended knee for this."

"How about I just thank you?" Haruhi asked good-naturedly.

Ozzie 'hmphed' and looked away childishly, but Haruhi was no longer concerned with him. She walked back into the crowd, which had mostly dispersed now that the spectacle was over. Haruhi was happy to see Yuriko and Kazuya still there, and very happy to see that they were talking to each other.

"I'm really, really sorry about that," Yuriko said, blushing hard as Kazuya put on a dopey grin.

"It's fine," he said. "I'm the one who should be sorry, getting all that juice on your dress."

Yuriko looked down at the stain, running a hand over it as if to smooth out a wrinkle. When she looked back up, she was still smiling.

"It's no big deal. I have a spare uniform in my locker, I can just run and get it now."

"Well, okay then," Kazuya said, then nervously cleared his throat. "I-If you like, I could walk you there… I'm Kazuya, by the way."

Yuriko laughed softly. "Nice to meet you, I'm Yuriko."

She started to walk away, but with a tiny gesture of her head, beckoned him to follow. Kazuya wasted no time, and soon they were off. Haruhi and Ozzie were in their wake, seeing them off while the latter beamed proudly.

"You did it, Haruhi," he said with reverence. "It was a horribly cliché method for a meet cute, but you did it."

"Thanks…" Haruhi said with a half smile.

She pressed on hand on the table, shifting her weight to it. Various couples walked by, some stopping to greet her, many too wrapped up in themselves to see her. Their Life Threads were red more often than blue, and Haruhi recognized many of the red ones as work of her own. There had been at least ten of them so far.

Ten happy couples she had brought together.

_She_ had.

Ozzie nudged her. "What's up?"

"Nothing," Haruhi said. "I feel… accomplished."

Ozzie's face broke out in a grin. "Well, you should."

"I know," Haruhi answered, looking around. "I didn't think I was doing much at first, but seeing all these people so happy, and knowing that I helped them is… actually pretty nice. I think I'm starting to understand why you love your job so much, Ozzie."

She trailed off, her face darkening as two faces entered her mind's eye. She saw the delicately pretty face of a girl, and the always handsome face of a boy who made her heart hurt. He was smiling at her, and she pushed the image away. It was too painful.

Ozzie walked along her forearm to meet her gaze. He looked worried, that was different. Since when did he worry about her?

Haruhi took a deep breath.

"I've decided that it's not right to keep anyone from having that. That happiness. It doesn't matter who it is."

'_Or how I feel about him.'_

She stood up tall, shoulders back and stance strong. It was a perfect mask for the desire to cry that was building in intensity within her.

"We still have one more job," she said in a firm, unwavering voice. "Let's go find Reiko and Tamaki-senpai."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: One more chapter and it's over. If you still want to kill me for the last chapter or the fact that I took so long to post this one, please keep that in mind.**

**Trust me, the next chapter is going to be good.**

**And if you're wondering about my pairing Renge up with Nekozawa... I can't really explain that beyond the fact that I once read a TamaHaru fanfic with them as a side couple, and the more I thought about it, the more interesting and actually kind of plausible it became to me. I hope I made it clear in their little scene that Renge's wearing the pants, because she is.**

**Poor, poor Nekozawa. XD**

**One more thing: I don't know if anyone noticed, but Kazuya and Yuriko are named after Hiramaru and Aoki from Bakuman. If you aren't familiar with that series, check it out. It's shocking how engrossing it is.**


	10. Happiness of Cupid

"Who'd would have thought they'd be so difficult to find," Ozzie said, much too loudly and not at all sorry sounding.

Haruhi flinched as his voice sent shockwaves through her ears. Why was it that he only screamed at her when he was sitting right beside her ear? As if she didn't have enough problems.

"We'll find them," she said. "Reiko is probably looking for Nekozawa-senpai, and Tamaki…"

She stopped walking when she stopped talking, her chest starting to hurt again. She took a few deep breaths to try and stop it, then moved on when it only helped a little.

"He's probably off with one of his usual customers or something. Shouldn't be too hard."

Ozzie shrugged. "If you say so."

Haruhi continued on, searching this way and that as her mind wandered. She soon found herself stopping again, and staring at her hands contemplatively. Meanwhile, Ozzie was fast becoming anxious.

"What is it this time?"

Haruhi didn't like his tone, but let it slide. She flexed the fingers of her right hand, where nothing was visible save smooth skin and clean fingernails.

"I was just thinking, it's a shame I can't see my own Life Thread," she said, smiling humorlessly. "I guess I can't even ask what color it is, right?"

Ozzie snorted and shook his head. "Rules are rules, I'm afraid."

"No offence, but your rules kind of suck sometimes."

"Yeah, don't I know it…"

Haruhi blew air out through her lips and took a long sip of the juice she'd brought with her from the refreshments table. The cool, sweet liquid burned in the back of her throat, but didn't sting quite so much as the tears that were constantly threatening to fall. She wiped her eyes for the umpteenth time, knowing she'd just have to do it again in another minute anyway.

She couldn't believe Tamaki Suoh of all people was making her this emotional. For so long, he'd just been some idiot forcing his way into her life and dragging her from place to place. He was annoying, but well-intentioned. Knowing that was what first endeared her to him, though it was a slow process and Haruhi never would have admitted that she was starting to like him.

When did that turn into love?

'_Is it even love?' _a nasty little voice in her head said. _'I thought you were only ever truly in love with your Destined Love, and if Tamaki's is Reiko and not you, then what you're feeling right now isn't love.'_

Haruhi didn't have the energy to refute that voice, or even to properly ignore it. It's words floated around in her head and repeated incessantly, a broken record. She looked down at her palms a second time, honing in on the left ring finger where her invisible Life Thread hung, almost certainly a bright orange color that made Haruhi feel sick in ways none of the others she'd seen could've hoped to manage.

"This sure doesn't feel like simple lust," she thought aloud, then raised her head back up. "So, Ozzie, got any ideas about how to bring Tamaki-senpai and Reiko together."

She glanced at him on her shoulder, noting his odd action of glancing from side to side several times and pulling his top lip over the bottom like he had something to hide. After a few more seconds of this, he shrugged.

"Do what you did last time, maybe?"

By now, Haruhi was on the move again, keeping her eyes straightforward. This didn't stop her from visibly reacting to Ozzie's suggestion, or from speaking out the corner of her mouth.

"I thought you said that was overdone."

"Overdone, yes," Ozzie said smarmily. "Affective, also yes."

Haruhi was shaking her head and sighing when the large rock in the middle of her path met with her foot. A crowd of people was before her, only a few inches away or so, and Haruhi could only hope that the tall person at the edge with his back to her would hear her yelp and turn around fast enough.

He did.

Brown eyes met violet.

Tamaki shot his arms out and caught Haruhi mid fall his a strong grip.

"Woah, what was that?" he asked while helping Haruhi to get back on her feet.

For his part, Ozzie was sitting contentedly on her shoulder, smiling and nodding his head.

"See?"

"Haruhi," Tamaki bent down low to her level, checking her face and neck for any sort of injury. "Are you alright? Are you hurt?"

Haruhi smiled slightly and backed out of his grip. "Thanks to you, Senpai, I think I'm okay."

"You need to be more careful," he said, eyeing the rock she had tripped over. "I don't know what I'd do if you were hurt."

Haruhi looked away, but it did little to hide her blush.

"R-really, I'm okay," she said. "But I did want to talk to you. It's important."

"That's funny," Tamaki said, suddenly looking unsure of himself. That caught Haruhi off guard. "There's something I've been meaning to tell you as well."

"Can it wait?" Haruhi asked without thinking. Once she was there, she couldn't take it back, no matter how much his face falling felt like a punch to the gut.

Jesus, what was wrong with her?

He nodded his head, and then Haruhi didn't hesitate. The faster she got this over with, the better.

"Senpai, I know you have someone very special," she said. The name Reiko refused to pass her lips. "Someone you love very much… in the romantic sense."

His eyes went as wide as saucers. Haruhi flinched, it wasn't an attractive sight and was making this a lot harder.

"You know?"

So was that tone.

"Yes," Haruhi spoke slowly, carefully. "I've known for a while now, and I want you to know that it's okay and… and you don't have to be afraid of how you feel."

She paused. Knowing him, he'd interrupt with a shriek or tears or even run to his corner in embarrassment. Haruhi had come to expect that… but it never came.

Tamaki did nothing.

He just stared at her.

Haruhi swallowed. "Holding something like this in will only hurt you, you and I both know that. So let her know, in whatever way you think is best. Go all out like you always do!"

It was a long time before Tamaki spoke, like his brain was having trouble processing her words. The silence wasn't good for Haruhi, it put her on edge. Any other sounds would have her ten feet in the air.

"Haruhi, I don't…" he trailed off. He didn't seem to know what to say.

He lowered his lead.

Haruhi forced herself to keep still.

A long sigh shook through him and he looked back up. His hand wrapped around Haruhi's thin arms, and they were shaking.

"I never thought you'd be the one to want a big display," he said, smiling in an almost… loving way.

Or maybe Haruhi just imagined that.

"It's what you're best at," she said in a friendly way. "Just be yourself, Senpai."

'_Because you are the best person I know,' _she wanted desperately to say. It would lead her to say many other things, painful things, things that could ruin both their lives. She kept her mouth shut.

Tamaki was grinning like a madman.

"Haruhi, you have no idea how happy I am," he said, and then he hugged her.

Haruhi squeaked, and it was muffled by the lapel of his jacket. Her arms were locked at her side, unable to squeeze back. Her hands curled into fists as she enjoyed the feel of him against for as long as she could, before he went away to find his true love.

Not _her_.

When his grip loosened, Tamaki brushed a hand on her cheek and backed up, walking backwards several steps and looking intently at her.

"Come to the dance floor, okay?" he said, glancing back a few times at the few people dancing. "Come right now so we can do this."

He turned and broke into a sprint, leaving Haruhi alone in the dust with Ozzie in her pocket and questions on her minds.

Why would he want her around when he was professing his love for Reiko?

Was she supposed to be his moral support because she'd encouraged and inspired him?

Somehow, that idea made her feel worse than any before it.

Her shoulders slumped. "I guess that fits with my job as a Cupid, huh?"

Ozzie poked his head out, looking at her tenderly, not a hint of anger or snark to be found.

"I thought you said you weren't a Cupid."

Haruhi smiled sadly. "It's not so bad."

Ozzie smiled back at her.

* * *

><p>Reiko was by one of the trees, discreetly spying on her club's head and the ever bubbly Renge, when Haruhi found her. Coaxing her away from them and to the dance floor was the real hard part.<p>

"What if she's put a spell on him?" Reiko asked insistently while Haruhi lead her away.

"I don't think Renge is capable of spells," said Haruhi. _'Though that would explain the motorized platform she got from nowhere…'_

"I just don't understand," Reiko was saying. "Senpai and that Hoshikuji girl have never spoken like this before! Why are they suddenly so… so…"

"Interested in each other?" Haruhi finished helpfully.

Reiko didn't answer, but let out a defeated groan and stopped fighting to escape. Haruhi easily pulled her the rest of the way, getting to the dance floor just as Tamaki-senpai took the stage. He raised a hand at the DJ, signaling for him to stop, and picked up the microphone. It was like a repeat of last night, there was even a grand piano conveniently placed behind him. Haruhi had a feeling she knew where this was going, and that was fine for her. Even before she knew she was in lo… how she felt about him, she'd always liked listening to Tamaki play. He was truly gifted and played with the skill of a master, at least as far as she knew. Hopefully, Reiko would be just as fond of the music as she was.

"Attention, ladies and gentlemen, attention." He tapped twice on the microphone, succeeding in getting eye on him where his words had not. "Sorry to interrupt the party, but your gracious Host Club King has something very important to say!"

Haruhi closed her eyes. This was it.

"I'd first like to ask all those with a significant other today to please look at your partner. Think about how you feel for them, how strongly you care for them, love them. These are precious moments for us all, we're all young and fortunate enough to be here together on this fine day."

A few people clapped here, and Tamaki calmly waited for them to stop. He didn't seem to be enjoying the praise, though. Not this time.

"I'd like you all to appreciate what you have, the love you've found. I should know…"

He moved away from the mike and walked to the piano, sitting with perfect poise and uncovering the keys. He grabbed the smaller microphone on top, adjusting it to his height.

"I'd like to dedicate this to the woman I love," he said.

A wave of gasps, mostly from his fangirls, overcame the crowd. Haruhi could see Kyoya near the side of the stage giving Tamaki a look like he was about to smack him over the head, and Hikaru and Kaoru had on their identical Cheshire cat grins. They'd be teasing Tamaki for this later, no doubt about it. By now, Reiko had gone stiff as a board.

"I hope I'm able to introduce her to you someday," he went on. "For now, I invite everyone to the dance floor. Please, enjoy yourselves, and have the Happiest Valentine's Day that ever was."

A few more people cheered, intercut with a few girls sobbing in the corner. Despite twinges of annoyance, Haruhi was able to ignore them. Then Tamaki began playing, and nothing else mattered for a moment. The opening chords were loud and pretty, spirited and slow at the same time. Tamaki closed his eyes as he played, fingers moving across the keys like they had minds of their own.

"Look into my eyes," he sang. "You will see, what you mean to me…"

She felt numb as she listened to the lyrics. They were so sappy and so romantic and so very Tamaki if anything ever was. It was almost comical, and she would have laughed were she in better spirits. She sighed and cast a glance at Reiko, ready to finish her job and go home early. Maybe some tea and a good book would make her feel better.

"Reiko-san, I-"

Haruhi blinked. Her eyes were not deceiving her, and Reiko really had abandoned her and run off to the other side of the dance floor. Haruhi moved around the couple who had taken to dancing, a very tall boy blocking her view. When he was out of the way, Haruhi got a good glimpse of Reiko, rubbing her elbow nervously and speaking to Hunny-senpai.

Hunny-senpai…

"Wait," Haruhi said, her gaze going from Reiko's face to Hunny-senpai's hand, where that pink Life Thread hung. It was like a rocket going off in Haruhi's head. "That's right! I completely forgot about Hunny-senpai, he's…"

He was taking Reiko's hands in his, smiling warmly at her. Reiko's face flushed, arms going low around his neck while his went to her waist. His lack of height posed an issue, but they overcame it well and soon he was leading her in a slow dance, the two looking deep into each other's eyes as their Life Threads glowed brightly.

"Not long now…" Ozzie muttered.

Haruhi's eyes snapped to him.

"Are you saying _they_ are Destined Loves?" she furiously demanded. "Reiko and _Hunny-senpai_? What about Tamaki? You said _he_ was her Destined Love."

"No, I didn't," Ozzie said curtly. "_You_ did."

"Well then, why didn't you correct me?"

"I couldn't."

"_Why?"_

"Oh come on, Haruhi," Ozzie shouted exasperatedly. "This isn't hard to figure out. You already pretty much have! For the love of God, it's right in front of your face. I_t has always been right in front of your face_."

Haruhi's mouth opened, jaw hanging as no words came out. She wanted badly to arguing further, wrangle a straight answer out of him for once. Unconsciously, she brought a hand to her head and rubbed it hard. Then she let go.

And looked at her hand.

Haruhi traced every curve of her fingers with great care, stopping at the ring finger, running down the length of it where she could see nothing. There wasn't nothing, though, she knew that now. Her Life Thread was there, the one Life Thread she _couldn't _see.

"Oh…"

Out of her sight, Ozzie's anger faded and his mouth curled into a smile.

On stage, Tamaki played his song passionately, it grew louder and his voice stronger. When it was over, Haruhi could barely move, and when his eyes found hers, it was like she was burning. She bit down on her lip, hard enough that she might've drawn blood. Everyone stopped and applauded as Tamaki stood for his bow and then exited the stage. Haruhi found herself moving after him, never once letting him out of her sight.

He walked away from the dance floor, from the garden, all the way passed Nekozawa and Renge's tree to one in the very corner of the courtyard, right next to the street. Haruhi slowed as she neared him. His back was to her and he was resting against the tree with his arms crossed over his chest. If he was as nervous as she was, he was hiding it. She took steady steps, raising a hand to rest on his shoulder. At her touch, he stiffened for a moment, then relaxed and turned around. He wasn't smiling, but his eyes sparkled. He looked so handsome, and Haruhi couldn't look away if she wanted to.

"How was that?" he asked. "I've always really liked that song, and I thought it was perfect for how I feel about you."

She stared silently, and he began to ramble.

"I don't think it's enough, though. I'm not sure I'll ever be able to properly show how much I love you because… I really love everything about you, Haruhi. I love your personality, I love how you never go along with anyone and do your own thing… I'm even starting to love those frumpy clothes of yours, because as much as I'd love to see you dress fashionably, they're all very _you_."

His hands found her face, long fingers resting with feather light force and rubbing the smooth skin. Haruhi thought she might've cried, but no longer had the urge to. She actually felt like doing something much different. If Tamaki kept this up, she just might not be able to stop herself.

"And I'm sorry I didn't realize it sooner, but I think I've been falling for you since the day we met. Knowing now that you feel the same way, I don't think there's a man alive who feels the kind of joy I do right now. I just want to be with you always and-"

He was stopped short, because right in the middle of all that, Haruhi lost control of herself, and she laughed. She laughed long and loud with abandon, not a care in the world if anyone heard her or anyone saw her. What did it matter if someone witnessed this, what did anyone else but the two of them matter right now?

Tamaki was clearly confused, and maybe a little terrified that his romantic confession was being rejected or something. That just made her laugh harder. He could be so thick sometimes.

"Haruhi, what are you laughing at?" he asked, more like demanded.

Haruhi shook her head, raising a hand to silence him and taking deep, calming breaths. When it all died away, Haruhi took hold of his wrists, wrenching them away from her face.

"Tamaki-senpai," she said. "Please do me a favor and stop talking."

"Huh?"

Haruhi stood straight, and when that wasn't enough, on her tip-toes. If only he wasn't so tall, this would be easy. She didn't stop for a second, for fear of losing her nerve or coming back to her sense. Tamaki made a little sound in the back of his throat when she pressed their lips together. He was surprised by her forwardness, Haruhi was surprised at herself. She wouldn't stop, though. There was no going back now.

Tamaki would soon relax, and wrap his arms around her waist in a strong grip she had no hope of escaping, not that she wanted to. His kiss her back with a ferocity that almost made Haruhi swoon, but she held on and gave just as good as she got. Their hands stayed in place, though they were close to moving. Maybe later when they were alone.

And while the two of them expressed let everything out in their kiss, Ozzie felt a deep sense of satisfaction. The pink Life Threads they each bore were stationary, but then they started to glow and move towards each other. Ozzie grinned when they connected, and a deep red spread from the middle in both directions, forever covering the pink.

"Job well done," he said.

He fell back and rested his arms beneath his head, looking to the sky as a cool wind blew.

Today couldn't have been a nicer day.

* * *

><p>Haruhi felt like she was walking on air when she opened her apartment door and stepped inside.<p>

She dropped her things by the door and shed her coat and went to the kitchen for something cool to drink, and she never enjoyed such menial tasks so much in her life. It seemed like no matter what she did, it would make her happy. She was bursting with excitement and joy from all the way to the tips of her fingers, which were still twitching in the aftermath

She hadn't wanted to part with Tamaki so soon, not after the whirlwind ride they'd just gone on, but the party wasn't over yet and they were needed. Haruhi was certain Kyoya-senpai would find something else to add to her debt if she didn't get back fast. And so they had reluctantly separated, Tamaki making sure to leave behind one more searing kiss, a promise of more to come later.

Haruhi's lips tingled even now, hours later. She drank down a steaming cup of coffee as fast as the heat would allow and carried it into the living room, where Ozzie waited on his armchair with his feet up on the coffee table. Haruhi couldn't even be mad about it.

"Someone's in a good mood," Ozzie said in sing-song.

Haruhi silently drank more of her coffee and then set the empty cup down. She threw herself back on the couch, sinking into cushions that suddenly felt much softer than usual. She didn't speak when Ozzie chuckled loudly and got up. He took two long strides and flopped down on the couch beside her, taking her hand and shaking it vigorously.

"Let me just be the first to congratulate you on a job well done," he said. "We had some rough patches, but I think you've really come into your own as a Cupid. It's too bad I can't let you keep the job."

Haruhi tilted her head towards him. "Wouldn't that leave you out of work?"

Ozzie's face fell. "On second thought, forget I said anything."

"Deal," Haruhi answered, not feeling the need to drag out the jokes any further. There was another, more pressing matter at hand. "So what happens now?"

"Now that Valentine's Day is over?" Ozzie asked, grabbing the bowl of hard candies Haruhi's dad kept around and popping one of them into his mouth. "I think that should be obvious. I take those powers back and we go on our merry way. I've got my job and you've got your school and your new boyfriend and a ton of other teenager stuff to do… You know, just the usual."

A loud crunching ripped through the air, making Haruhi flinch. Ozzie hadn't even let the candy melt a little before chewing it up. He moved it around in his mouth for a while, the pieces going from one cheek to the other. He swallowed, and then reached for another.

"I was talking more about your healing," Haruhi said. "How's that coming along?"

"What healing?" Ozzie asked.

It couldn't be said who realized what had been said first. Haruhi's eyes went wide in tantamount with Ozzie's. His jaw went unhinged, the hard candy kept from falling only by his tongue while Haruhi pointedly refused to look there.

"What was that?" she asked slowly.

Ozzie's mouth opened wider, nothing coming out besides a sort of hissing sound. It would mix with a droning 'uhhh' at some point, but by then Haruhi's eyes were on the wing. It was no longer bent, but perfectly straight with no sign that it had been injured at all. The feathers where aligned and it appeared none where missing. They weren't the same pure white all the way across the board. It was such a flawless healing job, Haruhi wasn't even sure it had been the right wing he had broken. Maybe it was the left after all.

Or maybe she should be getting angry right now.

Springing to her feet, Haruhi rounded on Ozzie, doing just that without a hint of mercy.

"You've been lying to me this whole time, haven't you?"

Ozzie got up as well, slower and with more subdued movements. He put up his hands, holding them steady in the air as Haruhi continued to seethe.

"Were you ever really hurt at all?" she demanded.

"Yes, I was," Ozzie said, slightly indignant. "I got some awful bruising thanks to that fall. It hurt in ways you can't even begin to understand."

"But it wasn't something you needed days to fix."

A beat, then Ozzie hung his head. "Ah… no. No, it was pretty much healed by the second day…"

"And you still made me do your job for you all this time," Haruhi was on the move now, pacing back and forth while Ozzie's eyes followed her movements. "I don't understand. Are you just lazy? Do you just pick up random people every year to do your work or-"

She stopped. Ozzie's head was slightly bent, and he looked up at her expectantly, his foot tapping in time with his breathing. He didn't seem at all afraid anymore, quite the opposite in fact. He was collected and calm while Haruhi's mind went into overdrive trying to figure everything out. Somewhere in the tangled mess of knots that were her thoughts, a brief moment from that morning found it's way to the forefront. All of a sudden, everything came together, and Haruhi's whole body went numb.

"Ozzie," she said tentatively. "Remember earlier today when I asked about any failures you might have had, and you mentioned this one couple you had a lot of trouble getting together?"

His answer was a long silence, and that was all Haruhi needed.

"Oh God…" she muttered, her voice dripping with irritation.

Ozzie, who had regained himself, shrugged. "Boy, you sure hit the nail on the head."

Haruhi glared at him.

"Don't give me that look," said the now affronted Ozzie. He got to his feet as well. "It's not my fault you two are- were completely oblivious. I tired every trick in the book to make you guys see it and you never did. It got to a point where I felt like taking a giant mallet, writing YOU ARE IN LOVE in big, fat letters, and then smacking you both over the head with it until you got it!"

"So you planned all of this," Haruhi said breathily. "Your injury and making me your substitute, all those people we set up together."

"Actually, that last one wasn't really me," Ozzie said matter-of-factly. "I mean, I had no control over what couples we encountered, so all the work you did was all on you… but yes, everything else I planned."

"Just to bring me and Tamaki-senpai together." Haruhi shook her head. "I don't believe this."

Ozzie brought a hand to his neck, sheepishly rubbing the back while Haruhi's penetrating eyes continued to burn through his defenses. His shoulders went up again, slower this time.

"Hey, come on," he said. "I did it to help you two, you especially. I think this has been good for you, you've learned a lot, right?"

Haruhi's scowl softened, much as she didn't want it to. It was far easier to stay angry at Ozzie than admit that he had a point. The more she thought about it, in fact, the more she realized how much… better she felt now, and not just because of the obvious. Valentine's Day had always been something she approached with pure indifference, but now she'd seen the other side of it, the genuine side.

It wasn't so bad a day, she supposed.

With a sigh, Haruhi stepped closer to Ozzie. "I don't like being tricked, but I guess that's true."

"Thatta girl!" Ozzie said, gathering Haruhi in his arms before she could protest and hugging her tight. "Boy, we've had some good times these last few days."

Haruhi craned her neck up painfully to free her mouth.

"Never thought I'd get used to having a little voice in my ear all the time," she said.

"Well, at least I keep things interesting," Ozzie said. "Some of those classes you take, my God. And I thought the Academy was awful."

Haruhi rolled her eyes, but there wasn't a hint of anger or even annoyance to it. To Ozzie's clear surprise, Haruhi pulled up her arms to hug him back, smiling lightly and closing her eyes.

"What's this for?" Ozzie asked.

"For everything," Haruhi answered. "For making me do this work and helping me and Tamaki-senpai… and because, amazingly enough, I think we actually became friends somewhere down the line."

Ozzie went stiff for a moment, his expression unreadable when Haruhi opened her eyes again. Her brow knitted in confusion, had she sad something wrong? Then he gave a soft smile of his own, but it did little to put Haruhi at ease. He moved away from her, staying close enough, though, to take hold of her by the shoulders. He slowly shook his head.

"I'm really going to miss you, Haruhi," he said.

_'Oh right,'_ she thought. _'Now that his job is done, he's leaving.'_

Haruhi felt a stab of sadness. She never thought that idea would make her feel so down.

"Yeah, I'll miss you too," she said.

A soft chuckle that exposed Ozzie's pearly white teeth escaped his lips.

"No, you won't," he said in a playful tone.

Haruhi gave him a look of reassurance. "What are you talking about? Of course I will!"

"No, Haruhi." His reply was fast, too fast, and he had lost all traces of humor from his face, leaving only a cold seriousness behind. "You _really_ won't."

Haruhi opened her mouth again to say something, but Ozzie's hand was faster. It flew to her forehead, his finger moving back and forth between her eyes. They went dull and her body limp. Ozzie grabbed her thin waist, face full of regret, and kept her upright as the magic seeped into her mind.

"I'm sorry," he said to her prone form. "I don't want to do this. You were right, Haruhi, we are friends, and that's why this is so hard. I took a big risk, revealing myself to you and giving you my power. The rule is ironclad: no human is to know of our existence, no exceptions. No exceptions at all…"

The spell completed, and Haruhi's eyes fluttered closed. Ozzie hoisted her into the air, crossing to her bedroom and sliding the door open with his boot.

"Don't worry, you'll still remember all the important stuff. Tamaki and everything you've learned. It's just me you're forgetting. That's not so bad, right?"

He kneeled, careful not to jostle her too much, and laid her flat on the futon. She instinctively curled up from the cool air, and Ozzie pulled a think blanket over her. Haruhi calmed immediately, her breaths evening out as Ozzie watched over her.

"I'll come back and check in on you from time to time, okay? You won't see me, but I promise I'll be there," he smirked in spite of himself. "Who knows? I may end matching your kids with their Destined Loves someday. I'm definitely keeping an eye out for them when the time comes."

He was at the door now, half in and half out, unwilling to leave so soon but knowing he had no choice. Haruhi slept, dreaming happy dreams of the wonderful days ahead of her, no doubt. Ozzie flicked his eyes to the clock, her father would be back any minute now and he didn't have invisibility on. He took one last, long look at her.

At Haruhi.

His most challenging job.

His friend.

He gave a sigh.

"Goodbye, Haruhi."

He began to pull the door shut, getting it mere inches away from the frame before suddenly throwing it open again.

"Oh! Almost forgot," he said. "If you were looking for some last minute gift ideas for Tamaki, he likes Chocolate Truffles. Just a suggestion."

Ozzie closed the door for real now with a click. His silhouette against the papery material grew small in time with his loud footfalls, vanishing into thin air when he was halfway to the front entrance. Haruhi rolled over in her sleep, muttering something unintelligible under her breath as the front door slammed shut.

She slept on.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: There will be a short epilogue to wrap everything up posted tomorrow. I'd like to thank you all for following this story to the end with me. It's been a joy to write, and hopefully to read as well. I'll have more to say about it tomorrow, I just wanted to get that out there.**

**On a side note, the song Tamaki sings for Haruhi in this chapter is 'Everything I Do (I Do It For You)' by Bryan Adams. I picked it because I've always thought that if Tamaki were going to romantically serenade Haruhi, that would be the song he'd use. It just sounds so much like him. Give it a listen to see what I mean.**

**Once again, thank you all, and I'll see you tomorrow. ;)**


	11. Epilogue: Empathy of Cupid

The day after Valentine's Day was just as sunny and warm as the day itself, if not more so. It was also a free day from school, thanks to a surprise faculty meeting to discuss budgets cuts that absolutely couldn't wait, no excuses. That's how Kyoya-senpai phrased it in his e-mail anyway.

Haruhi didn't mind, she'd never been happier to miss a day of school. After the events of yesterday, all she really wanted to do was spend the day alone with the one person who mattered most right now.

She didn't know how it finally hit her that all those instances of feeling weird or sick around Tamaki-senpai were signs of her love for him. The last few days were something of a blur to her, but she remembered very well the moment Tamaki had all but professed his love to her on a stage in front of 100 of their classmates. She imagined the only reason he hadn't just shouted it to the heavens was to protect her true identity as a girl from everyone. Haruhi really didn't care if he told anyone, though on repeated thing, leaving the Host Club wasn't something she wanted to do anytime soon even now.

Maybe when she graduated, they'd tell everyone. Until then, Haruhi was fine with simple signs of affection he'd promised her, starting today with a 'romantic walk through the park, just the two of them.'

Haruhi had already been to the local park more times than she got count. She knew it like the back of her hand, and she knew, with it's abundance of litter and perchance for attracting loud mouthed families with children who never stopped shouting about something, it wasn't exactly what one would call romantic. She suspected that Tamaki just wanted to experience the 'joys' of so-called commoner recreation with her. That was fine. It was better than his first offer to fly them off to Hong Kong for the day to watch a fireworks display he'd read about on the internet.

This was only their first date after all.

Haruhi crossed the wide street, car horns blaring all around her, a plastic bag swinging at her side. As she walked along the sidewalk, people came and went from all different directions, some alone and others in groups. What really caught her attention, though, were the paired off couples, young and old, who walked by. Haruhi had caught herself thrice now, leaving lingering gazes on the town's lovestruck. They looked like Valentine's Day was still going on for them, public displays of affections she usually paid no mind to.

For reasons Haruhi couldn't hope to fathom, seeing them today made her feel… _happy._

It was really weird.

'_I hope I'm not getting sick _this_ time,' _she thought to herself, then shook her head. _'I guess it's just Tamaki-senpai rubbing off on me. I'm going to have to be careful now.'_

She laughed quietly and quickened her pace. The park was just in view now, and when she squinted her eyes, so was one very familiar young man dressed casually and holding a huge and expensive looking bouquet of flowers.

That figured.

Tamaki's grin when he saw her threatened to split his face in half. Haruhi braced herself for his embrace, and it came swiftly. Even one handed, his hugs were near bone-crushing. Haruhi returned it, resting her head on his chest and just enjoying the feel of him for the next few seconds.

She was careful not to let her bag get in between them. It wouldn't be good for it to be crushed before Tamaki had a chance to see it.

"Finally," he said in her ear. "The wait for you to arrive almost killed me!"

Haruhi gave him a flat look. "You weren't waiting that long."

"It _felt_ like that long," Tamaki said insistently.

Haruhi smiled and shook her head. She didn't know what she was going to do with him.

She held out the plastic bag, it's contents partially visible through it's barriers. Tamaki studied it for a moment, then took it from her and looked inside. His eyes widened.

"It's a gift," Haruhi explained. "I know it's a day late and all, but I had some extra money laying around and thought you might like it."

"Chocolate truffles," Tamaki said almost reverently. "My favorite! How did you know?"

Haruhi shrugged. "I don't know. Just a feeling, I guess."

Tamaki grinned and wrapped an arm around her shoulder. The couple walked through the wide open gates into the park area, chatting amiably the entire way.

"You should see the gift Hunny-senpai is having made for his new girlfriend," said Tamaki.

"You mean Reiko Kanazuki?" Haruhi asked. "What about it? Wait, let me guess, it's a cake, isn't it?"

"The biggest cake you've ever seen!" Tamaki exclaimed, throwing his truffle-wielding hand out wide. "I only saw the blueprints for it on Mori-senpai's computer, but it's going to be something else once it's made. I don't think even Hunny-senpai could finish it alone."

"That would be a first."

Tamaki laughed, and it was the most contagious sound Haruhi had ever heard. Soon, she was laughing with him as they stepped onto the dirt trail lined by park benches. Tamaki was quickly enamored with the simplicity of the place and begged Haruhi to tell him about her experiences here. She could only roll her eyes and squeeze his hand. Tamaki was so very excitable, almost too much sometimes.

Haruhi wouldn't have it any other way.

* * *

><p>At the very top of the tallest building on the block sat a man with flaming red hair and enormous, birdlike wings. They were half stretched out around him, and he sat legs crossed, looking down on the tiny specks of people below, focusing primarily on the young couple who had just walked in.<p>

Whatever Tamaki and Haruhi were talking about, Ozzie was too far away to hear any of it. He had only their body language to go by, and it told him good things. He smiled when Tamaki took hold of Haruhi's hand. They were shoulder to shoulder, any closer and they'd been fused together. They stopped at one point to sit, and Tamaki took the opportunity to plant a quick peck on her lips. Haruhi's face went red, though she appeared to be trying to wave it off. Whatever she had said, it got Tamaki laughing again, and then pulling her into another, longer kiss.

Ozzie's eyebrows went all the way up. He swung his legs out and jumped down onto the main part of the roof.

"I guess I should give them some privacy," he said with humor. "You two have fun, you hear?"

Ozzie walked to the edge and stepped up, wings unfurling completely. He jumped off. They caught the wind and lifted him higher, carrying him down the block and over the park with proud and strong beats.

He flew toward the sun.

**THE END**

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Okay, a few things I want to tell you about now.**

**It's nothing horribly important, just some fun facts about this story I thought you might find interesting.**

**WARNING: STORY SPOILERS**

**1.) When I first conceived this idea several months ago, I originally had Tamaki be the one to meet Ozzie and gain his powers. I switched it to Haruhi very early on for several reasons: It's more fun to have the romantically oblivious Haruhi playing Cupid, and Tamaki's already dealing with the supernatural in the Spirit Minded series. Now it's Haruhi's turn! :D**  
><strong>2.) I don't know how many of you have read my another Ouran fic I wrote called 'Mary, May I?' (if you haven't, go read it now). That story was originally going to end like this one: with the characters forgetting everything that happened to them during the story. I changed that because of my tendency to overthink almost everything I write about. I realized that there was some serious Fridge Horror to the idea of people from another world controlling your lives for their own demented purposes, so I rewrote it to let the character keep their memories. Not in this story, though. It's sad, but true.<strong>  
><strong>3.) I like to listen to music when I'm coming up with ideas (and when writing certain scenes as well). One of these days, I'm going to write a fic with a full on soundtrack, but this isn't the fic. I do have two songs to go with this story, though. The first is Everything I Do, which I mentioned in the last chapter. The other is Higher Love by Steve Winwood. I see it as a sort of theme song for Ozzie, and were Apathy of Cupid a movie, that would be the End Credits song. Give it a listen if you want.<strong>

**And that's all I've got. Look out for a new oneshot coming soon, along with new chapters of Commoner Club and Absolute Ouran.**

**I'll see you then! :D**


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